source: BBC News
published: 28 November 2018
A retired senior policeman will not face criminal charges over his evidence to an inquiry into the shooting of an unarmed man. Prosecutors said there was not enough evidence to charge former Assistant Chief Constable Steven Heywood with perverting the course of justice and misconduct in public office.
He will face a gross misconduct hearing held by Greater Manchester Police. Mr Heywood authorised the operation in which Anthony Grainger died in 2012.
Mr Grainger, 36, from Bolton, Greater Manchester, was shot by a firearms officer through the windscreen of a stolen Audi in a car park in Culcheth, Cheshire, on 3 March 2012. Police believed he was planning an armed robbery.
In May, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) passed a filed of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) which considered whether Mr Heywood could be charged with two offences.
Announcing its decision, the CPS said it had “decided that the case failed to meet the evidential test. All parties have been informed.”
The IOPC said it believed Mr Heywood – who retired from the force in October 2018 – has “a case to answer for gross misconduct.”
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