‘No lessons to learn from shooting’

POLICE were right to shoot a gunman dead during a six-hour siege at a house in Huddersfield, a watchdog has ruled.

Alistair Bell, 42, fired 34 bullets at officers from his house in the village of Kirkheaton near Huddersfield before he was shot in the head on 28 December 2010.

He earlier shot and injured an unarmed officer responding to a 999 call. Officers from West Yorkshire Police were sent to his home following complaints that he had made threats to kill.

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An Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into the shooting found the use of force to be “consistent with training and legislation”.

A spokesman said the operation that preceded the shooting was also “appropriate”. He added that the work to secure the area around Bell’s house was carried out “in a way that preserved the safety of neighbours”.

No finding was made against any police officer and there were no lessons to be learned by the force, the IPCC said.

Cindy Butts, the IPCC’s Commissioner for West Yorkshire, said: “The police shooting of Mr Bell came after hours of talks to try and persuade an armed man to surrender himself failed. A police officer had already been shot and threats to use explosives were made before Mr Bell was fatally shot.”

In January this year the coroner at the inquest into Mr Bell’s death concluded the police marksman’s fatal shots were “justified”.