Saturday, 28 Sep 2024

Actions of police who fatally shot Streatham knife attacker to be examined at inquest

The actions of armed police officers, who shot dead knife-wielding terrorist Sudesh Amman, will be examined in a judge-led inquest next year.

Amman was shot just one minute after launching an attack on Streatham High Road, south London, on 2 February.

A pre-inquest hearing at the Royal Courts of Justice revealed the scope of the full inquest, which will be heard before a jury, will include evidence on the background of the attacker.

The 20-year-old was living in a bail hostel in Streatham at the time of the attack.

A known extremist, jailed for terror offences in 2018, he was under police surveillance after being released from prison just 10 days before the attack.

The full inquest will look at Amman’s behaviour and movements in the days leading up to his death.

He was shot by two plain clothes armed officers after he stole a 20cm knife from a shop on Streatham High Road and began stabbing passers by.

Two members of the public, 51-year-old nursery teacher Monika Luftner and a man in his 40s were stabbed.

A third member of the public was injured by flying glass after a police issued bullet impacted a nearby shop window.

The inquest will examine the police response, including the judgements of the officers in using lethal force, the injuries sustained by Amman and his medical cause of death.

A post-mortem examination on 4 February recorded the cause of death as “shock and haemorrhage” and “gunshot wounds to the neck and abdomen”.

Amman was under 24-hour surveillance over fears he could be involved in plotting acts of extremist violence.

The inquest will also look at the attacker’s previous terrorist conviction and time spent in jail, as well as his management and monitoring by prison and probation services.

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Counsel to the inquest Jonathan Hough QC said the inquiry was expected to hear evidence surrounding the surveillance operation on the day of the attack, including the information known and available to the officers and the others involved in the operation.

He said it may be “relevant to what ought or should’ve been known to officers who dealt with him on that day”, but there was likely to be material that was “security sensitive”.

Mr Hough indicated a two-to-three week inquest could take place before High Court judge Nicholas Hilliard at the beginning of August next year.

An Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation is also due to deliver its findings on the first anniversary of the attack.

The counter-terrorism investigation into the attack has so far identified 201 potential witnesses.

The investigation has also gathered 349 witness statements and 1,349 documents.

Evidence also includes video footage and images from police body worn cameras and CCTV, which is likely to be played to the inquest jury.

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