Almost five years after Broughton's Anthony Grainger was shot dead by an officer from Greater Manchester Police while he sat unarmed in a car in Culcheth, a Public Inquiry finally opens tomorrow, Tuesday 17th January, at Liverpool Crown Court.
Anthony was fatally shot at close range by an officer with a semi-automatic rifle on 3rd March 2012 and since then there have been constant calls for the truth surrounding the incident, and for justice for the Grainger family.
First the family was forced to wait two years for the outcome of a detailed Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into the shooting. Then, in 2014, a criminal prosecution was brought against GMP Chief Constable, Sir Peter Fahy, only for the family to discover that the trial couldn't take place due to the existence of `secret material' and evidence.
The GMP has never been held to account, and Farleys Solicitors, acting for Grainger family, states that "Throughout the five year investigation, GMP has attempted to hold back huge amounts of evidence from Anthony's family, some 5,850 entries, with any evidence that has been provided being subject to over-redaction.
"Just days before the Inquiry is due to commence, thousands of pages of relevant material are yet to be disclosed" the solicitors add "The family will be excluded from the first two weeks of the Inquiry as GMP representatives address this secret material."
The hearing at Liverpool Crown Court is only the second time in England and Wales that a Public Inquiry has been set up to examine a fatal police shooting.
"The family want two things from this inquiry" says Jonathan Bridge, Partner at Farleys Solicitors who is leading the team representing Anthony Grainger's family "Firstly they want to understand how an unarmed man can be shot dead at close range by a police officer with a high-powered rifle.
"Secondly they want lessons to be learned" he adds "No mother should face that knock on the door and be told by an officer that the police have shot and killed her son. Anthony's parents, siblings and children were all devastated by his death and deserve to know what mistakes were made leading up to that fatal shot being fired, and how we can make sure that such mistakes are never repeated.
"To achieve these objectives GMP need to attend the Inquiry with a willingness to be open" he explains "If the Inquiry becomes a 14 week exercise in GMP attempting to limit the extent of criticism for their failings, lessons will not be learned. The family are not encouraged by the conduct of GMP since they shot and killed Anthony but must put their faith in the Inquiry. They are extremely grateful to His Honour Judge Teague and his Inquiry team for the hard work they have already put in to preparing for the inquiry."
During the first four days, there will be an opening speech from Counsel to the Inquest, followed by opening speeches from the other parties and statements about Anthony from family members and his partner. There will then follow two weeks of closed hearings at which the Inquiry will consider evidence from GMP and the National Crime Agency, before the examination of all the witnesses begins.
All courts transcripts of the open hearings will be posted on the Grainger Inquiry website at the end of each day.
To access these and loads of other information about the hearing see www.graingerinquiry.org.uk
For the full background to the shooting of Anthony Grainger see previous Salford Star article and follow the links at the end... Public Inquiry Announced into Death of Anthony Grainger - click here
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