Police cleared over flat siege death

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) launched an investigation after Kevin Quirke apparently shot himself at his flat in Gleadless following a standoff with police lasting two days last January.

But his mother Joan complained that she was prevented by police from speaking to her son and insists she could have persuaded him to leave the flat peacefully.

However, she says she has now been shown the IPCC report and said it concluded that police had acted correctly during the incident, where he was armed with a shotgun.

An inquest will take place next month and the IPCC findings will form part of the evidence.

Mrs Quirke has consistently stated that her involvement could have changed the outcome of the incident and said she believed her views had been overlooked by investigators.

She has told the IPCC she is not satisfied with their findings and has also complained about the post mortem report carried out after her son's death.

It listed his height as 5ft 9in, although he was really 6ft 2in, and described his build as "slight" when he was in fact more bulky, she said.

"If they have got that wrong, what else might be wrong?" she said.

The pathologist who examined her son's body had since moved to Canada, she said.

Mrs Quirke, who lives close to the flat where her son died, said she had been supplied with an early copy of the IPCC report and had complained about its content, but was told her views were too late to be included.

"I could have got him out easy, I was his mother. But mothers don't count these days.

"They said we were not allowed to speak to him for our safety. I had asked to go and speak to my son but I was put in a police car and told there was nothing to worry about. He ended up dead.

"I know that if I had got in to him, he would be here now.

"The night he died, all I wanted to do was lay some flowers at his doorstep. They would not let me do that, they sent me packing," she said.

The incident flared up because Mr Quirke believed he had breached a restraining order by sending a text to a former partner. When police turned up at his flat they were unaware he had a gun, because he had no firearms certificate.

During the siege Mr Quirke fired a shot at police and as negotiations progressed, power supplies to the flat were cut off in an attempt to bring the situation to a close.

Police eventually found his body after searching the property when communications from Mr Quirke came to a halt.

During the early part of the siege, Mr Quirke's two children were in the flat with him and after they were allowed to leave they were initially arrested by police.

Mrs Quirke said the IPCC investigation had concluded officers were correct to take that action. Mr Quirke's teenage daughter had not attended school since the incident because of the trauma it caused and was still receiving psychological help.

A spokesman for the IPCC said: "The IPCC investigation into events that lead up to the death of Kevin Quirke took into consideration concerns the family had regarding the police response.

"The findings will be tested at the inquest by all interested parties, including Mr Quirke's family. "