UK: No charges against officers who killed Harry Stanley
01 November 2005
In October the Crown Prosecution Service announced that it had advised Surrey Police that there is insufficient evidence to bring criminal charges against the two police officers responsible for the fatal shooting of Harry Stanley in London in September 1999. Harry was shot dead by Inspector Neil Sharman and PC Kevin Fagan, of the Metropolitan police firearms unit (SO19), a few minutes after a caller told the police that an Irishman had left a public house in Hackney, carrying a sawn-off shotgun in a plastic bag. In fact, the 46-year old Scottish painter and decorator was carrying a table leg that had been repaired, (see Statewatch Vol. 10 no 2 & 6, Vol. 11 nos 3/4, Vol. 12 no. 5, Vol 13 no 3, Vol. 15 no 2)).
The CPS's decision, which was greeted with shock by Harry's family, follows on from an inquest jury's verdict that he was unlawfully killed. The CPS's review of the incident concluded that "the evidence relating to the fatal shot could reasonably permit interpretations consistent with the officers' belief that they were acting in self-defence." The charges that the CPS rejected were: murder (the CPS found that the officers acted in the honest belief that they were under immanent threat) and gross negligence manslaughter (the CPS did not believe that the officers had breached their duty of care to Mr Stanley). The CPS did concede that it is "arguable that the officers' haste and lack of planning led them to breach their duty of care to Mr Stanley", but concluded that there was insufficient evidence for a jury to "be sure that the degree of negligence was gross".
Moving from the killing of Harry Stanley, the CPS also found that perjury and attempting to pervert the course of justice charges against the officers were unlikely to meet the criminal standards required. Even for the relatively minor offence of misconduct in public office "there is insufficient evidence for a realistic prospect of conviction."
In the past 12 years not a single police officer has been successfully prosecuted for shooting dead a member of the public. The Independent newspaper (21.10.05) recently collated 30 controversial instances where members of the public were killed by police officers. One of the most recent examples was that of Jean Charles de Menezes who was shot dead, receiving seven "dum dum" bullets to the head from close range, while travelling to work on public transport.
Speaking of the events surrounding the killing of Harry Stanley, his wife said:
What happened today was an injustice. I am devastated by it, 'though I half expected it. I am going to keep fighting but I can't say more until I receive legal advice. I am also disgusted that I first heard of the CPS decision at 7.30am because of a leak to a tabloid [newspaper]
Inquest press release 20.10.05; CPS "CPS Decision in Henry (Harry) Stanley Case" 20.10.05