Shooting inquest jury sees man's final seconds

An inquest jury has been shown police footage of the final seconds of a man's life who was shot dead by West Midlands Police during a raid on a house in the city.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, died on 4 January 2019 in Burnaby Road in Coventry when officers from a regional task force were investigating the drug activities of a suspected organised crime gang.

Coventry Coroner's Court previously heard Mr Fitzgerald, who was unarmed, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest after leaving the property at about 18:20 GMT.

The inquest heard evidence from the police watchdog, the Independent Office of Police Conduct, which oversaw investigations six years ago.

As the hearing began on Monday, Liam Fitzgerald, Sean's brother, told jurors his younger brother had enjoyed serving in the Army.

He had signed up in 2009 and won the title of "best recruit", jurors were told.

He stayed in the Army for two years, and Liam said the experience had given Sean the "confidence and structure he needed".

Sean had lost his mother in 1998, which deeply affected him, but after he left the forces, his life was "up and down", and he eventually moved back to Coventry in 2017, the court heard.

Liam admitted his brother had minor involvements with the police over the years and said although he "wasn't a saint...he had a heart of gold".

He said: "After his death, we learnt that Sean was mentioned in an indictment, but we will never know if he would have been found guilty. While some of his friends are in prison, he is in the ground."

He said the family missed him and added: "We miss what we've lost, but we also miss what he could have had."

The court heard police executed a search warrant as part of a long-standing investigation into drug dealing.

The warrant was carried out on that day because police thought the organised crime group would be there with drugs, the jury heard.

Large numbers of officers were at the raid which saw a chainsaw used on the front door and firearms officers at the back of the house, the inquest was told.

The officer who fired the shot, Officer K, was with another officer, Officer F, in the backyard of the house, the court heard.

Jurors heard there was no light in the garden, but the light on Officer K's gun lit up Sean as he emerged from the house with a mobile phone in his right hand.

Coroner Sir John Saunders said the inquest would look at what happened and why.

Police officers involved in the incident have been anonymised to protect their identity and will be referred to by letters during the hearing.

The inquest in Leamington Spa is expected to continue for six weeks.

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