Overview
- The Independent Office for Police Conduct confirmed the firearms officer will not face a gross misconduct hearing, concluding there is no case to answer.
- The IOPC said it revisited the matter after the May 2025 inquest, drawing on expert testimony and a digital reconstruction indicating the officer could see a phone in Sean Fitzgerald’s hand.
- An earlier IOPC decision in October 2023 did not refer the case for criminal charges but had left open the possibility of gross misconduct, a position revised following the inquest evidence.
- Fitzgerald, 31, was shot while leaving a Coventry property during an armed operation into suspected organised crime, and he was unarmed and holding a black mobile phone the officer said he believed was a gun.
- Fitzgerald’s family voiced disappointment, alleging investigative flaws including delays and access to body-worn video before a full statement, while also stating they now wish to close this chapter.