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| Version 3 | Version 4 |
|---|---|
| Azelle Rodney inquiry: Firearms officer had killed before | Azelle Rodney inquiry: Firearms officer had killed before |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| A police officer who killed a man in north-west London seven years ago had shot two other people dead earlier in his career, an inquiry has heard. | A police officer who killed a man in north-west London seven years ago had shot two other people dead earlier in his career, an inquiry has heard. |
| Azelle Rodney, 24, was shot six times in Edgware after the car he was in was stopped on 30 April 2005. | Azelle Rodney, 24, was shot six times in Edgware after the car he was in was stopped on 30 April 2005. |
| Armed police claimed they feared the occupants were armed with a sub-machine gun to rob a Colombian drugs gang. | Armed police claimed they feared the occupants were armed with a sub-machine gun to rob a Colombian drugs gang. |
| Mr Rodney's mother Susan Alexander walked out of the hearing after accusing the police of lying. | Mr Rodney's mother Susan Alexander walked out of the hearing after accusing the police of lying. |
| Commissioner's commendation | Commissioner's commendation |
| The inquiry heard that as police surrounded Mr Rodney's vehicle, a specialist firearms officer, identified only as E7, opened fire on him. | The inquiry heard that as police surrounded Mr Rodney's vehicle, a specialist firearms officer, identified only as E7, opened fire on him. |
| He said he was "convinced" that Mr Rodney had had a gun in his hands. | He said he was "convinced" that Mr Rodney had had a gun in his hands. |
| Ms Alexander interrupted his evidence and asked him: "How many more lies are you going to tell?" | Ms Alexander interrupted his evidence and asked him: "How many more lies are you going to tell?" |
| The inquiry also heard that E7 had shot dead two men and injured a further two during an incident in the 1980s. | The inquiry also heard that E7 had shot dead two men and injured a further two during an incident in the 1980s. |
| Inquests into the men's deaths later found they had been lawfully killed and the officer received a commendation from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for his conduct. | Inquests into the men's deaths later found they had been lawfully killed and the officer received a commendation from the Metropolitan Police Commissioner for his conduct. |
| The two injured men were later tried and jailed. | The two injured men were later tried and jailed. |
| E7 said that on the day he had opened fire on Mr Rodney, he had seen him looking left and right and ducking down in the back seat of the car. | E7 said that on the day he had opened fire on Mr Rodney, he had seen him looking left and right and ducking down in the back seat of the car. |
| The officer opened fire less than a second after pulling up beside the car, which had been under surveillance for several hours. | The officer opened fire less than a second after pulling up beside the car, which had been under surveillance for several hours. |
| He said: "His [Mr Rodney's] posture was of someone who was preparing to fire a weapon. | He said: "His [Mr Rodney's] posture was of someone who was preparing to fire a weapon. |
| "I'm as convinced today as I was on the day that Azelle Rodney had a gun in his hands. | "I'm as convinced today as I was on the day that Azelle Rodney had a gun in his hands. |
| "It was nothing to do with the fact I couldn't see his hands, it was everything about his body language that he had picked up a firearm and was prepared to use it. | "It was nothing to do with the fact I couldn't see his hands, it was everything about his body language that he had picked up a firearm and was prepared to use it. |
| "It led me to believe I had no choice but to open fire." | "It led me to believe I had no choice but to open fire." |
| E7 gave no verbal warning before opening fire, because he said there had not been enough time. | E7 gave no verbal warning before opening fire, because he said there had not been enough time. |
| 'Threat to colleagues' | 'Threat to colleagues' |
| The officer said he had shot Mr Rodney six times because he had thought the rounds were having no effect. | The officer said he had shot Mr Rodney six times because he had thought the rounds were having no effect. |
| He said: "These things happen very quickly. My impression was that my rounds had no effect on him whatsoever. | He said: "These things happen very quickly. My impression was that my rounds had no effect on him whatsoever. |
| "I saw nothing that implied that he was no longer a threat to my colleagues." | "I saw nothing that implied that he was no longer a threat to my colleagues." |
| He said they believed the men had had a sub-machine gun that could fire in excess of 1,000 rounds a minute. | He said they believed the men had had a sub-machine gun that could fire in excess of 1,000 rounds a minute. |
| Leslie Thomas, counsel for Mrs Alexander, asked E7 how he could have shot five people during his career, three of them fatally. | |
| He accused the officer of being trigger happy, even though the two earlier deaths were later found to be lawful killings. | |
| Police did not find a machine gun in the car, however the occupants had been carrying other firearms. | |
| The other two people in the vehicle, Frank Graham and Wesley Lovell, were subsequently jailed for possession of firearms. | |
| Mr Thomas suggested that E7 and colleagues had "planted" evidence by moving one weapon closer to the dead man. | |
| "That's outrageous," said E7. "That's insulting." | |
| An inquiry is being held into Mr Rodney's death instead of an inquest because of sensitive intelligence information that would have to be withheld from a coroner. | An inquiry is being held into Mr Rodney's death instead of an inquest because of sensitive intelligence information that would have to be withheld from a coroner. |
| The hearing, which began on 3 September, continues. | The hearing, which began on 3 September, continues. |