DEATH-SHOT GUN COP ‘ACTED HONESTLY’
POLICE MARKSMAN WILL NOT FACE DISCIPLINARY ACTION OVER DAD-OF-TWO’S KILLING
A POLICE marksman who shot dead unarmed robbery suspect Anthony Grainger in 2012 will not face disciplinary action.
The police watchdog yesterday ruled the officer, known only as Q9, acted ‘honestly.’
Q9 killed Mr Grainger, a Salfordraised father-of-two, by firing a single bullet from his Heckler and Koch MP5 sub-machine gun.
Mr Grainger was behind the wheel of a stolen red Audi in a car park in the village of Culcheth, near Warrington, where police suspected a supermarket was about to be robbed.
A 2019 public inquiry into the shooting revealed that Q9 had been presented with seriously inaccurate intelligence, which exaggerated the risk posed by Mr Grainger, a convicted criminal who had served time in jail.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) yesterday announced it had reviewed evidence gathered by its own investigation and the subsequent public inquiry and found no grounds to discipline Q9.
IOPC director of major investigations Steve Noonan said: “There is sufficient evidence to suggest that Q9’s reason for using lethal force was honestly held, and there is no case to answer in respect of their conduct.”
The watchdog is continuing with three other investigations into the 2012 swoop.
The marksman told the inquiry he fired to protect colleagues. He said he saw Mr Grainger lower his left hand to an unseen gun, although no weapon was ever found. One of Mr Grainger’s two passengers, David Totton, claimed they were simply there to collect a debt from ‘Fenton.’
The Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry report found that the shooting was not unlawful and stopped short of recommending any further action to be taken against any of the police officers involved. But it detailed how the operation was based on intelligence which contained ‘serious inaccuracies, presenting a distorted and in some respects exaggerated picture of the threat Mr Grainger presented.’
It also stated that commanding officers ‘lacked the requisite level of professional competence,’ and planning was ‘inadequate and ineffective.’
A government report published on Tuesday said lessons had been learned by Greater Manchester Police.
The IOPC’s three yet-to-be-finalised investigations concern the conduct of six officers.
The first is looking at the conduct of former Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney, former Superintendent Mark Granby and a former chief inspector and their ‘command and control’ of the 2012 operation. Each has been informed that they are under investigation for gross misconduct.
The second is examining GMP’s acquisition of a ‘dangerous’ CS grenades which not been approved by the Home Office nor tested. One was used in the 2012 swoop.
The third is looking into the conduct of a serving GMP officer regarding their management of two firearms officers’ training records.
A further senior officer, former Assistant Chief Constable Steve Heywood, is facing a disciplinary hearing over his role in the swoop – he oversaw the operation – and the evidence he gave to the public inquiry. As a retired officer, he is not obliged to attend.