A police marksman involved in the fatal shooting of Azelle Rodney today lost a High Court challenge against a verdict that he used excessive force.
The officer known as E7 could now face a criminal trial over the death of the robbery suspect in Edgware in 2005. When officers stopped the car Rodney was travelling in with two other men, E7 opened fire within a second of his vehicle coming to a halt.
Last year an inquiry chaired by Sir Christopher Holland found there was “no lawful justification” for E7 to have shot Rodney six times. The officer applied for a judicial review, saying the verdict that Rodney, 24, was unlawfully killed was “tantamount to murder” and “irrational and unsustainable”.
But today Sir Brian Leveson, President of the Queen’s Bench Division, and Mr Justice Irwin threw out the objection. “The hurdle of proving that Sir Christopher had reached irrational conclusions on the facts is incapable of being surmounted,” they said.
Earlier this month the High Court was told the Met had been in possession of reliable intelligence that the three men had machineguns and were on their way to rob Colombian drug dealers. E7 had said he “honestly believed” Rodney had picked up and was preparing to use a gun. Sir Christopher rejected this.
Scotland Yard had backed E7’s application for a judicial review.
