Police officer investigated over Sean Fitzgerald shooting

A police officer is under investigation for shooting dead an unarmed man as he fled from a house during a planned raid, an inquest hearing has heard.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, died from a single gunshot wound during an intelligence-led operation in Coventry on the evening of 4 January.

No firearm was recovered from the scene of the shooting, the inquest into Fitzgerald’s death was told on Thursday.

Andrew Beech, a team leader at the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), told the five-minute hearing its inquiry would examine the “decisions and actions of the police officer who fired the shot”.

It will also investigate the “intelligence and operational planning” before the raid, Beech said.

He told the hearing in Leamington Spa, Warwickshire, that police went to the house with a section 8 search warrant. “The officers got to the address and began to force entry,” he added.

“Mr Fitzgerald ran out of the back of the premises and was shot and fatally wounded by an armed officer who was covering the rear of the house.”

Fitzgerald died shortly after and the case was referred to the IOPC, he said: “My colleagues went through the police post-incident process. They went to the scene, they went to the hospital and they also met with Mr Fitzgerald’s family.”

Two 26-year-old men were arrested on suspicion of being involved in growing cannabis. One of the men was bailed, the other released under investigation.

A liaison officer remains in touch with the family, he said, adding that the investigation was still in its early stages. The investigation is expected to conclude in June.

Beech, who is leading the IOPC investigation, told the hearing that all police officers involved were being treated as witnesses and that “no firearm was recovered”.

A postmortem previously confirmed that Fitzgerald, who lived locally, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest.

The coroner, Sean McGovern, told the family: “I know it’s been a shocking thing that’s happened.” He adjourned the inquest until a date yet to be set.

Friends described Fitzgerald as a “very good guy” who they said had served in the British army until recently.