Man wielding Uzi-type sub-machine gun shot dead by police in 'suicide by cop'
29 December 2007 London Evening Standard news
Investigators from the Independent Police Complaints Commission are trying to discover if the man had committed "suicide by cop" - forcing police to open fire by threatening to shoot members of the public.
A 999 call to police described a man in the street wielding a sub-machine gun. The 999 caller described a gun like an Uzi. Two police marksmen challenged the man before firing two shots, both of which hit him.
A gun matching the description given in the 999 call was recovered from the scene of the shooting on Saturday morning.
The man, aged about 40 and described as "troubled and sad", had spent the previous evening drinking in the village's Black Horse pub. Landlady Anne Roberts, 60, said: "He was here all night drinking vodka and Red Bull. He told us he was originally from this area, but that he had moved away. "He said he was on a trip down memory lane because his grandparents used to bring him here when he was a boy. "He was friendly but I was worried about him because he had a troubled air. He seemed sad and I felt sorry for him." Miss Roberts said that although the man seemed depressed, he was in no way violent or aggressive. She said: "He was a friendly chap who had a chat with a lot of the locals. "He seemed a bit unwell but I'm shocked to hear he threatened someone with a gun. He did not seem like that sort of person."
Police closed part of the village for most of the day. The man told Miss Roberts he was staying in a nearby bed and breakfast in Fairseat Lane - but there is no B&B in that road. The landlady said he told her he had a well-paid job and she thought he said he was an electrical engineer.
It is thought the man later tried to commit suicide by driving his white Mitsubishi car into a nearby field and running a hosepipe from the exhaust pipe through a window.
Investigators believe they know the dead man's identity, but he is not expected to be named until Wednesday. The IPCC said he was white and from Kent although he did not live in Stansted, which is near Sevenoaks. It is not believed he held a firearms licence or was a member of a gun club.
"Suicide by cop" is a term which originated in the US in the 1980s to explain the actions of people who appear to deliberately provoke police to open fire.
Replica Uzi gun man 'lawfully killed' by Kent Police
From BBC News (click here for source)
A man who was shot dead by police after he pointed a replica Uzi machine gun at officers was lawfully killed, an inquest jury has found.
Dayniel Tucker, 39, was shot by firearms officers sent to Stansted near Sevenoaks, Kent, on 29 December 2007.
An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) investigation concluded their actions were justified.
A replica gun found nearby looked genuine at first, a ballistics experts told the Gravesend inquest.
Gravesend Coroner's Court heard that Mr Tucker, a precision engineer, of Adisham Green, Sittingbourne, had suffered from depression and seasonal affective disorder.
The inquest was told his car was found in a nearby field with a hose connected to the exhaust pipe and he had attempted suicide in the past.
Jurors heard a man identifying himself as Dayniel Tucker called 999 on 29 December and reported that he had seen a man pointing a firearm at him.
When the Kent Police force communications centre phoned the caller back to ask him to describe the gun, he said it looked like an Uzi-type sub-machine gun.
Two armed response vehicles arrived in Tumblefield Road and saw Mr Tucker concealing something in his jacket.
When they were about 20m away, a policeman referred to only as "Officer A", saw Mr Tucker take a gun from his jacket and point it directly at him.
Officer A shouted: "Armed police, drop the weapon, drop the weapon now."
The inquest heard Mr Tucker was shot twice by police marksmen and died instantly.
'Tragic circumstances'
Ballistics specialist Franco Tomei said when when he first saw the firearm he believed it was a real sub-machine gun, capable of firing up to 600 rounds a minute, but after a closer inspection he realised it was an imitation.
Dr Fiona Perry, a toxicology expert, said post-mortem tests revealed traces of alcohol, cannabis and carbon monoxide in Mr Tucker's body and he was "likely to have been under the influence of drugs at the time of his death".
IPCC Commissioner Mike Franklin said: "The events of the 29 December 2007 have had a lasting impact on all involved. Mr Tucker's family and friends lost a loved one in tragic circumstances, and the firearms officers have to live with the fact that they shot and killed a man."
He said officers were equipped with Tasers and baton rounds, but the circumstances meant the use of less lethal weapons was not an option.
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