Cop who fatally shot unarmed man could face misconduct quiz

A POLICE officer who fatally shot an unarmed man as he left a property in Coventry may now face gross misconduct proceedings after an inquest jury concluded the victim was lawfully killed.

- STEPHANIE WAREHAM News Reporter

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, died from a single gunshot wound to the chest after leaving a property in Coventry at about 6.20pm on January 4 2019.

West Midlands Police officers were investigating the activities of a suspected organised crime gang in Burnaby Road, an inquest at Coventry Coroner's Court heard.

A jury in the six-week inquest was asked to consider whether Mr Fitzgerald had been lawfully or unlawfully killed by the officer who fired the fatal shot, who was given anonymity and referred to only as officer K.

Officer K told the inquest he had been standing in the back garden of the property when he saw a curtain move and a man holding a black object that he thought was a gun, the BBC reported.

The jury concluded on Wednesday that Mr Fitzgerald was lawfully killed.