Shooting during Exercise is Health and Safety Issue
Police officers and instructors face charges due to a death during a training exercise. The individual was killed during a “guns and robbers” training in 2008. The force will be prosecuted for health and safety breaches. The individual injured was shot with a blank round from 12 inches away.
The incident occurred with members from the Greater Manchester Police. The HSE has decided to go ahead with charges after the health and safety audits showed breaches in safety and health. Two officers involved in the incident will be prosecuted. Instructors will also be facing charges. The Crown Prosecution Service did not feel there was sufficient evidence to bring charges against the entire force, but the HSE does believe the instructors and two of the officers need to be held accountable for breaching sections 2 and 7.
The incident is now four years old and the family is still waiting for a decision to be made. An inquest in 2010 did find that PC Terry was killed unlawfully. The jury also ruled there were issues brought on by failures during the exercise. The planning, safety, and training measures in place have failures concerning safety and health.
It does not seem that the case will be easily solved in the courts given the issues with evidence. It seems as though the family cannot move on yet in the accidental death of the father of two.
