Death Of Azelle Rodney
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Azelle Rodney was a London man who was fatally injured by an armed officer of the Metropolitan Police on 30 April 2005. In July 2013, a public inquiry found that the Specialist Firearms Officer who fired the fatal shots, Anthony Long, had "no lawful justification" for killing Rodney. The case was referred to the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
(CPS) to determine whether a prosecution should be launched. On 30 July 2014, the CPS announced that they had made the decision to charge the officer with murder. On 3 July 2015, the officer was cleared by a jury.


Biography and background

Azelle Rodney was born on 22 April 1981 and brought up in west London. He had two brothers. Rodney was known for his sporting abilities at school, his football and athletic development came to an end after a hip injury and two subsequent operations when he was 16. He also had an interest in music, and developed this and attended the local gymnasium. His mother stated after his death that her son barely knew the two men from whom he had accepted a lift, that he was not a gangster, and that he had only had a minor criminal record. A report compiled for the public inquiry later described Azelle Rodney as a mid-level career criminal at the time of the shooting and he was wanted by police in connection with two stabbings. His girlfriend gave birth to their daughter after his death.


Death

On the night of 30 April 2005, Rodney was driven by associates Wesley Lovell and Frank Graham in a hired silver
Volkswagen Golf The Volkswagen Golf () is a compact car/ small family car ( C-segment) produced by the German automotive manufacturer Volkswagen since 1974, marketed worldwide across eight generations, in various body configurations and under various nameplate ...
. The three drove across north London after they were observed by police to pick up three weapons, believed to be
MAC-10 The Military Armament Corporation Model 10, officially abbreviated as "M10" or "M-10", and more commonly known as the MAC-10, is a compact, Blowback (arms), blowback operated machine pistol/submachine gun that was developed by Gordon Ingram in ...
sub-machine guns. They were seemingly unaware that their car had been under surveillance for some time and that it was being followed by armed police in unmarked vehicles. It was later revealed at the trial of Lovell and Graham for drugs and firearms offences that they had been under police surveillance for two days and that the car had been tailed for several hours on 30 April. According to information later released to Rodney's family by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...
, the armed police following the VW Golf moved at some point to "State Red", meaning that the car was to be intercepted as soon as possible. This occurred as the car was passing the Railway Tavern on Hale Lane in the
London Borough of Barnet The London Borough of Barnet () is a suburban London boroughs, London borough in north London, England. Forming part of Outer London, the borough was formed in 1965 from parts of the ceremonial counties of Middlesex and Hertfordshire. It is the ...
at 7:43 pm, the police using a manoeuvre known as a "hard stop". An unmarked police
Audi Audi AG () is a German automotive manufacturer of luxury vehicles headquartered in Ingolstadt, Bavaria, Germany. A subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, Audi produces vehicles in nine production facilities worldwide. The origins of the compa ...
swerved in front of the VW Golf, a Vauxhall Omega halted alongside, and a third vehicle impacted the rear of the VW. Fourteen members of the Metropolitan Police's
Specialist Firearms Command The Specialist Firearms Command (MO19) is the firearms unit of the Metropolitan Police Service. Formed in 2005 but with antecedents dating back to 1966, the Command is responsible for providing a firearms-response capability, assisting the res ...
(CO19) emerged from the cars. Hatton rounds – a form of shotgun
breaching round A breaching round or slug-shot is a shotgun shell specially made for door breaching. It is typically fired at a range of 6 inches (15 cm) or less, aimed at the hinges or the area between the doorknob and lock and doorjamb, and is designed ...
– were fired to puncture the VW Golf's tyres. During this, a CO19 officer later referred to by his call sign of E7, who had twenty years of firearms experience, leant across from the front passenger seat of the Vauxhall Omega and fired eight 5.56mm rounds from his
Heckler & Koch G36 The Heckler & Koch G36 (Gewehr 36) is an assault rifle An assault rifle is a select fire rifle that uses an intermediate cartridge, intermediate-rifle cartridge and a Magazine (firearms), detachable magazine.C. Taylor, ''The Fighting Ri ...
Compact semi-automatic carbine through the passenger window of the VW Golf at Rodney, six of which hit him in the face, head, neck and chest. An immediate police search of car found ammunition and three guns: a
M1911 The Colt M1911 (also known as 1911, Colt 1911, Colt .45, or Colt Government in the case of Colt-produced models) is a single-action, recoil-operated, semi-automatic pistol chambered primarily for the .45 ACP cartridge. History Early hist ...
0.45 inch ACP Calibre self‐loading pistol; a
Baikal Lake Baikal is a rift lake and the deepest lake in the world. It is situated in southern Siberia, Russia between the federal subjects of Irkutsk Oblast to the northwest and the Republic of Buryatia to the southeast. At —slightly larger tha ...
pistol A pistol is a type of handgun, characterised by a gun barrel, barrel with an integral chamber (firearms), chamber. The word "pistol" derives from the Middle French ''pistolet'' (), meaning a small gun or knife, and first appeared in the Englis ...
; and a smaller gun described as looking like a key fob. A later search of Lovell's flat revealed that it had been used to produce a "significant quantity" of
crack cocaine Crack cocaine, commonly known simply as crack, and also known as rock, is a free base form of the stimulant cocaine that can be Smoking, smoked. Crack offers a short, intense Euphoria (emotion), high to smokers. The ''Manual of Adolescent Sub ...
. Before family liaison officers called on his family, Metropolitan Police officers had called at a neighbour's house to confirm Rodney's identity. That evening various news agencies reported that Rodney had been holding a gun when he was shot, and later described him as a "drugs baron" and a crack dealer. ''
The Times ''The Times'' is a British Newspaper#Daily, daily Newspaper#National, national newspaper based in London. It began in 1785 under the title ''The Daily Universal Register'', adopting its modern name on 1 January 1788. ''The Times'' and its si ...
'' mentioned after Lovell and Graham's trial that he had been "visiting a drug factory that he ran". Police called at his mother's house to inform her of his death on the afternoon of 1 May 2005, almost 24 hours later.


Investigations and adjourned inquest


IPCC

The shooting was first investigated by the
Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...
which passed its findings to the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
(CPS) for consideration. The CPS concluded in July 2006 that there was insufficient evidence to convict any individual involved for Rodney's death. John Yates, the Metropolitan Police's Deputy Assistant Commissioner at the time, said that "The situation facing our officer that evening clearly left him with no option than to take the course of action he did." The officer responsible said: "Everything about his actions led me to believe that he was fully ready to fire with a fully automatic weapon." However, the
Independent Police Complaints Commission The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) was a non-departmental public body in England and Wales responsible for overseeing the system for handling complaints made against police forces in England and Wales. On 8 January 2018, th ...
confirmed that Rodney was not seen holding a gun when he was shot dead.


Inquest (adjourned)

On 2 August 2007, deputy coroner Andrew Walker, sitting at
Hornsey Hornsey () is a district of north London, England, in the London Borough of Haringey. It is an inner-suburban, for the most part residential, area centred north of Charing Cross. It adjoins green spaces Queen's Wood to the west and Alexand ...
North London, ruled that a full inquest into Rodney's death could not be held because of the large number of
redaction Redaction or sanitization is the process of removing sensitive information from a document so that it may be distributed to a broader audience. It is intended to allow the selective disclosure of information. Typically, the result is a document ...
s in police officers' evidence statements. The redactions were made under the
Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 The Regulation of Investigatory Powers Act 2000 (citation of United Kingdom legislation, c. 23) (RIP or RIPA) is an Act of parliament, Act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom, regulating the powers of public bodies to carry out surveillanc ...
which covers information obtained from covert surveillance including telephone taps and bugs. The Rodney family's solicitor, Daniel Machover, said that he had written to the
Home Office The Home Office (HO), also known (especially in official papers and when referred to in Parliament) as the Home Department, is the United Kingdom's interior ministry. It is responsible for public safety and policing, border security, immigr ...
and the
Ministry of Justice A justice ministry, ministry of justice, or department of justice, is a ministry or other government agency in charge of the administration of justice. The ministry or department is often headed by a minister of justice (minister for justice in a ...
asking that the law be changed to allow the coroner to proceed with the inquest. In May 2009 four years after his death, Rodney's mother, Susan Alexander, filed a case against the British government in the
European Court of Human Rights The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR), also known as the Strasbourg Court, is an international court of the Council of Europe which interprets the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR). The court hears applications alleging that a co ...
, claiming that her human rights were breached by the failure to hold a "reasonably prompt" and public investigation into her son's death. The British government apologised to the European Court for the delay in holding a full investigation.


Independent public inquiry

On 30 March 2010, Justice Minister, Lord Bach announced in the UK
House of Lords The House of Lords is the upper house of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. Like the lower house, the House of Commons of the United Kingdom, House of Commons, it meets in the Palace of Westminster in London, England. One of the oldest ext ...
a public inquiry into Rodney's death. It was the first time in England that an inquiry under the
Inquiries Act 2005 The Inquiries Act 2005 (c. 12) is an act of the Parliament of the United Kingdom. According to the explanatory notes, published by the Department for Constitutional Affairs, the act "is intended to provide a comprehensive statutory framework for ...
replaced the role of an inquest jury to investigate a death regarding state deprivation of life and use of force as defined by
Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights In the European Convention on Human Rights, Article 2 protects the right to life. The article contains a limited exception for the cases of Capital punishment, lawful executions and sets out strictly controlled circumstances in which the deprivat ...
. The inquiry began on 6 October 2010 chaired by a former high court judge, Sir Christopher Holland. The chair ruled that evidence previously kept secret could in fact be made public. The Chair sought assurance, which was given in writing, from the
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general (: attorneys general) or attorney-general (AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have executive responsibility for law enf ...
that evidence provided by witnesses to the Inquiry would not be used in any criminal proceedings. On 3 September 2012, seven years after Azelle Rodney was killed, the inquiry into his death began hearing oral evidence. The identity of the officer who killed Rodney was protected and the officer was labelled, 'E7'. The inquiry heard that Rodney had been shot at eight times (six shots hit him) by 'E7' from an unmarked police car used, along with other unmarked police vehicles, to stop the car that Rodney was seated in the back of. 'E7' told the inquiry that he shot Rodney because Rodney's movements led him to believe Rodney had picked up a gun, possibly a machine gun, and he believed Azelle Rodney was about to open fire. He stated that at no point had he ever stated that he had seen a gun in Rodney's hands which had been obscured by the car door . The earlier IPCC inquiry established that Rodney was unarmed when he was shot and killed by 'E7'. In July 2013 the public inquiry concluded that the armed police officer who fired the fatal shots had "no lawful justification" for killing Rodney. The report of the inquiry noted that eight shots were fired from close range in 2.1 seconds, six of which hit Rodney. The first two shots that hit him had neutralised any threat from Rodney. Subsequent shots were unlawful, either causing death or being fired at "a dead or dying man". The inquiry found that 'E7', the officer who killed Rodney, "could not rationally be believed" and rejected his version of events which were contradicted by forensic evidence. The inquiry did not find that 'E7' was deliberately lying. The inquiry concluded that firing at Rodney to kill him "was disproportionate and therefore unreasonable and unlawful". Susan Alexander, Rodney's mother, said he should not have been, "summarily killed". "The police owe me an apology for the unlawful killing of my son", she said. 'E7', supported by the Metropolitan Police Commissioner, applied to the High Court for a judicial review of the public inquiry, claiming the Chair's conclusions were "irrational". In refusing the application Mr Justice Williams said he had "no doubt" there was "ample evidence to justify the finding" that 'E7' did not have an honest belief that Mr Rodney had picked up a gun. The case was referred to the
Crown Prosecution Service The Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) is the principal public agency for conducting criminal prosecutions in England and Wales. It is headed by the Director of Public Prosecutions. The main responsibilities of the CPS are to provide legal adv ...
(CPS) to determine whether a prosecution should be launched.


Criminal proceedings


Murder trial

In July 2014, based on new evidence from the public inquiry and its conclusion of
unlawful killing In English law, Irish law and Northern Irish law, unlawful killing is a verdict that can be returned by an inquest in England and Wales and Ireland when someone has been killed by one or more unknown persons. The verdict means that the killin ...
, the Crown Prosecution Service charged the former police officer, who had by now left the Metropolitan Police Service, with Azelle Rodney's murder saying, "there is a realistic prospect of conviction and that a prosecution is in the public interest". Reporting restrictions were lifted allowing the charged officer formerly identified only as 'E7' to be properly named as PC Anthony Long. The conclusion of the public inquiry that Rodney's killing was unlawful was withheld from the jury at the murder trial. The trial started at
the Old Bailey The Central Criminal Court of England and Wales, commonly referred to as the Old Bailey after the street on which it stands, is a criminal court building in central London, one of several that house the Crown Court of England and Wales. The s ...
, the English Central Criminal Court, on 8 June 2015, some ten years after Rodney's death. On 3 July 2015 Anthony Long was found not guilty of murder by a majority verdict. After the trial Long said, "Police firearms officers do not go out intending to shoot people and, like me in this case, have to make split-second life or death decisions based on the information available to them at the time".


Lovell and Graham trial

Wesley Lovell and Frank Graham, who had been in the car with Rodney, were later sentenced to seven years and six years imprisonment respectively at
Middlesex Middlesex (; abbreviation: Middx) is a Historic counties of England, former county in South East England, now mainly within Greater London. Its boundaries largely followed three rivers: the River Thames, Thames in the south, the River Lea, Le ...
Guildhall Crown Court on 24 January 2006 for drugs and firearms offences. The court was told that three guns were found in the car and that Lovell's flat had been used to produce crack cocaine. The trial also revealed that there was some dispute regarding the guns present in the VW Golf at the time of Rodney's death. In a statement, Scotland Yard said that the guns were "loaded and fully operational", however evidence given by the prosecution differed; it was stated that a Colt .45 pistol which Graham admitted to owning was on the back seat but had been deactivated and could not fire, while Lovell's pistol – which had been converted from a
tear gas Tear gas, also known as a lachrymatory agent or lachrymator (), sometimes colloquially known as "mace" after the Mace (spray), early commercial self-defense spray, is a chemical weapon that stimulates the nerves of the lacrimal gland in the ey ...
gun – was found inside a rucksack along with a loaded double-barrelled handgun.


See also

* List of people killed by law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom *
Police use of firearms in the United Kingdom In the United Kingdom, police firearm policy varies by constituent countries. In Northern Ireland, all police officers carry firearms whereas in the rest of the United Kingdom, firearms are carried only by specially-trained firearms officers. ...
* Northolt siege, a previous incident (1985) involving the same police officer *
Death of Mark Duggan Mark Duggan, a 29-year-old black British man, was shot dead by police in Tottenham, North London on 4 August 2011. The Metropolitan Police stated that officers were attempting to arrest Duggan on suspicion of planning an attack and that he was ...
* Death of Anthony Grainger * Deaths after contact with the police


References


External links


Official website of the inquiryCoroner's ruling on Azelle RodneyThe Report of The Azelle Rodney Inquiry - Sir Christopher Holland (Chairman)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rodney, Azelle 2005 deaths 2000s crimes in London 21st-century British criminals Criminals from London Deaths by firearm in London Deaths by person in London Metropolitan Police operations Year of birth missing 2005 in London