Marina and John Schofield, the mother and stepfather of unarmed Salford man Anthony Grainger - who was shot by an officer of Greater Manchester Police in a car park in Culcheth on 3rd March 2012 - have issued a statement heavily criticising both the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) and the `entire process' of the investigation into his death.
The full statement reads…
"On 3rd March 2012 Anthony was sitting in a car with friends in Cheshire when he was shot and killed by a Police Officer. He was unarmed. An attempt was made to prosecute the other occupants of the car with the offence of 'Conspiracy to rob' but they were acquitted of any offence.
"The last two years have been a terrible ordeal for Anthony's family. Not only have they had the heart-breaking loss of Anthony but they have also had to contend with the frustrations and delays of the legal process. Two years on, they know little more than they did on the day Anthony was shot.
"The role of the IPCC must be seriously called into question. There have been repeated delays in the finalisation and disclosure of the IPCC report and in maintaining its integrity once disclosed.
"The family were assured that the reports would be disclosed by the end of October 2012. They only eventually received the report in February of 2014, some 18 months after the initial promise was made.
"In that intervening period there were repeated promises made to disclose the report, which were not kept. There were unacceptable delays throughout that time. The family even had to deal with details of their son's death being published in the Manchester Evening News before they themselves had been made aware of the facts. Greater Manchester Police, who it must be remembered shot and killed Anthony, allowed a copy of the IPCC report to be leaked to the Manchester Evening News despite knowing full well the confidential nature of the evidence and the distress that leaking the report would cause to the family.
"Even now the only information the family have been given in relation to Anthony's death is a copy of the preliminary IPCC report. The CPS continues to fail to co-operate with the family or to provide any updates in relation to the on-going criminal proceedings against Sir Peter Fahy, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, who is defending charges of Health and Safety breaches. The family remain bemused at the CPS's decision not to charge the Officer that shot Anthony with murder. The family continue to look at the possibility of judicially reviewing that decision.
"Two years on from Anthony's death the family feel that little progress has been made by investigators and bringing those responsible to justice. The Inquest remains suspended whilst the Chief Constable defends the breaches of Health and Safety, something which Greater Manchester Police have been found guilty of before. The likely outcome of which, if proven in this case will simply be a fine which will have no direct impact on any of those responsible for the shooting. The disillusionment of the family with the entire process is understandable.
"However, on the second anniversary of Anthony's death, John and Marina Schofield remain absolutely determined to ensure that the true facts leading up to Anthony's killing will be made public and that those responsible will face justice."
The statement ends with the family wishing to "strongly disassociate themselves with the 'Justice for Grainger' campaign" and emphasising "that those behind the campaign are not representative of Anthony's close family".
However, the Justice 4 Grainger Campaign has put out its own stronger worded statement…
"We condemn the perverse and corrupt decision of the Crown Prosecution Service not to charge any police officer for Anthony's death but to instead charge the Chief Constable of GMP, Peter Fahy, under Health and Safety Legislation.
"This decision is a blatant attempt by the state to further obstruct and deny justice to the family and friends of Anthony. Anthony's death at the hands of the police is not an isolated incident, 54 people have been shot and killed by the police in England and Wales since 1990 and 955 people have died in police custody in the same period. Not one serving police officer has served any prison sentence for these deaths.
"On 21 September 2012 after a trial lasting nearly three weeks a jury took less than one hour to find the two men who had been in the car with Anthony when he was shot and killed not guilty of any charges. By implication Anthony was also found not guilty, GMP have been proven in court to have shot and killed an unarmed innocent man.
"The Justice 4 Grainger Campaign calls for the police involved in the cold blooded killing of Anthony to be brought to trial to face justice. Deaths at the hands of the police in Britain have to stop!"
The Justice 4 Grainger Campaign has called an anniversary vigil for tomorrow Sunday, 2nd March 1-3pm at Piccadilly Gardens.
For further details see Facebook event – click here
Also, tonight, Saturday 1st March, the Militant Labour Forum is holding a meeting discussing the deaths of both Anthony Grainger and Mark Duggan, with speaker Wesley Ahmed from Justice4Grainger and Peter Clifford from the Communist League. It's at 6pm, Room 301, Hilton House, 26-28 Hilton Street, Manchester M1 2EH. Further details at www.themiltant.com
See also previous Salford Star article on Grainger protest outside Crown Prosecution Service office - click here
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