- Greater Manchester Police chief charged with health and safety offences
- Marksman who shot Anthony Grainger dead will NOT be prosecuted
- Police force Sir Fahy in charge of could face an unlimited fine if convicted
- Mr Grainger, 36, was shot dead when his car was stopped in Cheshire
Prosecution: Sir Peter Fahy will be charged with health and safety offences over the shooting of Anthony Grainger, the Crown Prosecution Service said today
A knighted chief constable has been charged over the death of an unarmed man who was shot by police officers from within his force.
Sir Peter Fahy is accused of health and safety offences after Anthony Grainger, 36, was killed by police marksmen in March 2012.
The unarmed man was shot during an operation by Greater Manchester Police to arrest suspected armed robbers.
The senior policeman will not appear in the dock himself but is named on the charge sheet as the 'corporation sole' - or human representative - for the force.
If the conviction is successful, Greater Manchester Police will face an unlimited fine.
Previously, the Metropolitan Police were convicted of health and safety offences after shooting Jean Charles de Menezes dead on the London underground in 2005. They were ordered to pay £175,000 plus legal costs.
The marksman who killed Mr Grainger could have faced a charge of murder - but the Crown Prosecution Service decided a jury would be likely to rule his actions were necessary.
The father-of-four was shot after his car was stopped in Culcheth, Cheshire, as part of a pre-planned operation.
It later emerged that the unarmed father of two had earlier been wrongly suspected of stealing a memory stick containing the names of police informants.
The Mail on Sunday reported that he and two associates were put under surveillance in an operation involving nearly 100 officers, and that armed teams were briefed that he might open fire at police, despite there being no evidence of him having access to weapons.
The IPCC found no vehicles were in Mr Grainger's vehicle at the time.
Shot dead: Mr Grainger, a father-of-two, was unarmed when he was killed by a police marksman in March 2012
Scene: Mr Grainger was shot by police in Culcheth, Cheshire, when his Audi was stopped by officers as part of a pre-planned operation
One round was discharged by an officer carrying a Heckler and Koch MP5 carbine and this passed through the car windscreen and struck Mr Grainger in the chest while he was in the driver’s seat.
Two Hatton rounds were fired into the car’s tyres by an officer carrying a shotgun to disable the vehicle. The car had been stolen and had false registration plates.
A CS canister was also deployed by hand into the vehicle by one of the firearms team.
Alison Saunders, the Director of Public Prosecutions, said: 'We have completed our review of the evidence provided by the Independent Police Complaints Commission in relation to the death of Anthony Grainger.
'After careful consideration we have decided that the Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Peter Fahy, should be prosecuted as a corporation sole for failing to discharge a duty under the Health and Safety at Work Act.
Shooting: Mr Grainger was killed by police in March 2012. Although the force could face a fine, the officer involved will not be prosecuted
'In addition to every employer’s responsibility towards their employees, the law also imposes a duty to ensure that work is carried out in a way that ensures, so far as is reasonably practicable, that persons outside of their employment are not exposed to risk.
'The chief officers of police forces are treated as employers for this purpose. It is alleged that there were serious deficiencies in the preparation for this operation that unnecessarily exposed individuals to risk.'
A spokesman added that the officer who fired the fatal shot would be unlikely to be convicted.
The CPS said: 'In the circumstances of this case, our assessment of the evidence is that a jury would accept that the officer did believe his actions were necessary and that the level of force used in response to the threat as he perceived it to be was proportionate.
'The basis for the officer’s belief in the necessity of his actions is relevant to the criminal proceedings under the Health and Safety at Work etc Act and it would be inappropriate to publish any further detail at this time.
Shot: A bullet hole in the windscreen of a red Audi that police opened fire at in Culcheth, Cheshire
'There is also insufficient evidence to prosecute the officer for gross negligence manslaughter or misconduct in public office.'
GMP could not face a charge of corporate manslaughter because the force had no relevant duty of care towards Mr Grainger.
Deputy Chief Constable Ian Hopkins said: 'Since Mr Grainger’s death 22 months ago, Greater Manchester Police has co-operated fully with the Independent Police Complaints Commission, the Crown Prosecution Service and HM Coroner. Our sympathies remain with Mr Grainger’s family and we deeply regret the loss that they have suffered.
'Mr Grainger’s family, and the officers involved, have had to wait a long time for this decision to be reached and we share the frustrations over those delays.
'However, we understand that it was vitally important that the investigation was carried out thoroughly to establish all the facts.
'Now that a charging decision has been made regarding the force itself, it is equally important that these legal processes are allowed to take their course unimpeded in order to seek a resolution for both the family of Mr Grainger and the force.
'The Independent Police Complaints Commission investigated this matter independently and we await the official publication of their report. This matter also remains the subject of an inquest, so Greater Manchester Police is unable to make further comment at this time.'
The first hearing will be at Westminster Magistrates' Court on February 10.
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