From: "Earl Williamson", [EMAIL PROTECTED] Fury as marksmen escape charges by Deepa Shah Two police officers who shot dead an unarmed man afte mistaking a table leg he was carrying for a sawn-off shotgun, will not be prosecuted, the Crown Prosecution Service said today. A spokesman said there was "insufficient evidence" to bring criminal charges. Harry Stanley, a 46-year-old grandfather, was gunned down by firearms officers from Scotland Yard a few yards from his Hackney home on 22 September last year. His family are said to be "devastated and incredibly angry" at the decision not to prosecute. Their spokesman, Terry Stewart of the Justice for Harry Stanley Campaign, said: "They've got the weapon and they have two officers responsible for a man's death. What more evidence do they need? "Harry was a 46-year-old man who had just had cancer. He could barely walk. The idea that he could have posed a threat to anyone is laughable." He said the family's fight for justice would continue. The decision also enraged Deborah Coles, co-director of Inquest, a charity that investigates deaths in police custody. She said: "This unbelievable decision ... shows that the rule of law does not apply to police officers. How can we accept that the shooting dead of an unarmed man does not result in a criminal trial where a jury decides whether or not the actions were unlawful?" A Scotland Yard spokesman would only say they had received a copy of the report. -------- Could decisions such as this one be partly to blame for the view that certain Civil Servants are "above the law". Surely this is the wrong message to be sending out. The message should be "those who lay down the law & those who uphold it professionally are working in the best interests of the people." Just my thoughts EW -- I think this is difficult to judge without seeing precisely what is in that report. However, the CPS is very wary of prosecuting police officers, in part I think because of the AFO who was charged with murder previously, tried three times and found not guilty. Steve. Cybershooters website: http://www.cybershooters.org List admin: [EMAIL PROTECTED] ___________________________________________________________ T O P I C A http://www.topica.com/t/17 Newsletters, Tips and Discussions on Your Favorite Topics
