Marksman faces action over song titles boast

A FIREARMS officer involved in the fatal shooting of a barrister is to face misconduct action after telling a colleague he had inserted pop song titles into his inquest evidence, a police watchdog said.

The officer, known only as AZ8, had taken part in the incident involving Mark Saunders, 32, who was shot dead by police during a siege at his west London home in 2008.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched a probe over claims he had used song titles in evidence he gave at the inquest into Saunders’s death.

However, the watchdog said that while the officer, part of the Metropolitan Police’s CO19 firearms unit, was found to have made a flippant and “crass remark” about the songs, he was cleared of deliberately inserting them.

His admission casts doubt over whether he is suitable for firearms duties, the IPCC said.

The bereaved family said the debacle made clear that there were issues over how firearms officers are both recruited and monitored.

A senior officer from CO19 will also face unspecified misconduct action for his mishandling of the incident, the IPCC said.

IPCC commissioner Tom Davies said the revelations led to the “police’s reputation being tainted and public confidence tested”.

A probe found AZ8 made a remark to the senior colleague about “getting in two song titles”.

The senior officer recalled a specific reference to pop star George Michael — a review of AZ8’s evidence found reference to only one George Michael song, ‘Faith’. when the officer used the phrase “You’ve got to have faith”

Although he had no recollection of making the comment about inserting the song names, AZ8 did not dispute or deny that he had, the IPCC report found. He said the period following the operation ahead of the inquest had been “extremely stressful” resulting in the off-the-cuff remark.

A search of his evidence found six other songs by artists other than the former Wham star. They included Enough is Enough by Donna Summer and Quiet Moments by Chris De Burgh.

But the investigation found they are all every day, colloquial words and phrases that had relevant meaning to the inquest.

Songs used in evidence

AZ8 mentioned the following songs in his evidence:

Faith — George Michael

Enough is enough — Donna Summer

Self preservation — The Lucksmiths

My old boots — Membranes

In the line of fire — Dogwood

Quiet moments — Chris De Burgh

Point of no return — Immortal Technique