{"id":351386,"date":"2021-10-16T12:30:14","date_gmt":"2021-10-16T12:30:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/?p=1493496"},"modified":"2021-10-16T12:30:14","modified_gmt":"2021-10-16T12:30:14","slug":"man-shot-dead-by-police-was-not-a-danger-to-anyone-family-says-after-inquest","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/2021\/10\/16\/man-shot-dead-by-police-was-not-a-danger-to-anyone-family-says-after-inquest\/","title":{"rendered":"Man shot dead by police was not a danger to anyone, family says after inquest"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>There was nothing to suggest a \u201cconfused and frightened\u201d man who was shot dead by police \u201cwas aggressive or a danger to anyone on that day\u201d, his family said after an inquest jury found he was unlawfully killed.<\/p>\n<h5>Shot in the back<\/h5>\n<p>Lewis Skelton, 31, died after he was shot twice in the back by an officer in Hull city centre when tasers had no effect, an inquest jury heard. Hull Coroner\u2019s Court was told how Skelton was carrying an axe and had failed to respond to officers\u2019 instructions to stop before he died five years ago. There were emotional scenes in court on 22 October after the jury returned its unanimous conclusion following eight hours of deliberation.<\/p>\n<p><!-- EMBED START PA Quote --><\/p>\n<figure><script async src=\"https:\/\/content-embed.pressassociation.com\/embeds.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/figure>\n<p><!-- EMBED END PA Quote --><\/p>\n<p>Humberside Police said it was \u201cdisappointed\u201d by the decision, pointing out that the police watchdog had cleared the officers involved and flagging-up a recent change in the law which makes it easier for juries to hold officers accountable for their actions.<\/p>\n<p>In a statement read outside court by his sister Tia, Skelton\u2019s family said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>The jury has confirmed what we all knew, the killing of Lewis was wrong and it was unlawful and he should still be with us today.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Tia Skelton said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>There was nothing to suggest Lewis was aggressive or a danger to anyone on that day. He was confused and frightened. His final moments being must have been ones of terror and fear, and that is so hard for us as a family to know.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The family criticised reports at the time that Lewis was \u201ca crazed axe man\u201d and \u201caxe wielding\u201d. Tia Skelton said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>All who have seen and heard the evidence during this inquest will have come to realise those descriptions of Lewis on that day could not have been further from the truth. We are grateful to the members of the jury who recognised that the people in the wrong were the officers of Humberside Police, and not Lewis.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>The statement concluded:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>What happened to Lewis has torn our family apart and broken all our hearts, affecting each and every one of us in unique and different ways. Lewis needed help but he was killed. He should never have been taken from us.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><!-- EMBED START Image --><\/p>\n<figure id=\"embedded263076799\"><img src=\"https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/0ccf17a4bf5237110a0dcb237aa59594Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjM0NDExODEz\/2.63076799.jpg?w=640\" sizes=\"(max-width: 767px) 89vw, (max-width: 1000px) 54vw, (max-width: 1071px) 543px, 580px\" srcset=\"https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/0ccf17a4bf5237110a0dcb237aa59594Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjM0NDExODEz\/2.63076799.jpg?w=320 320w, https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/0ccf17a4bf5237110a0dcb237aa59594Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjM0NDExODEz\/2.63076799.jpg?w=640 640w, https:\/\/image.assets.pressassociation.io\/v2\/image\/production\/0ccf17a4bf5237110a0dcb237aa59594Y29udGVudHNlYXJjaGFwaSwxNjM0NDExODEz\/2.63076799.jpg?w=1280 1280w\" alt=\"Tia Skelton, centre, the sister of Lewis Skelton, is surrounded by members of their family and solicitor Neil Hudgell, left, as she reads a statement to the media outside Hull Coroner's Court\" data-title=\"Lewis Skelton inquest\" data-copyright-holder=\"PA Wire\" data-copyright-notice=\"PA Wire\/PA Images\" data-credit=\"Dave Higgens\" data-usage-terms=\"\" \/><figcaption>Tia Skelton, centre, the sister of Lewis Skelton, is surrounded by members of their family and solicitor Neil Hudgell, left, as she reads a statement to the media outside Hull Coroner\u2019s Court (Dave Higgens\/PA)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p><!-- EMBED END Image --><\/p>\n<h5>&#8220;Low threat situation&#8221;<\/h5>\n<p>The jury heard that Humberside Police received a number of 999 calls on 29 November 2016, saying a man was walking down Holderness Road carrying an axe. Armed police were deployed and two officers caught up with him.<\/p>\n<p>The officer who fired the fatal shots \u2013 only identified as B50 \u2013 described how Skelton failed to stop when challenged and the use of taser four times by both he and his colleague \u2013 identified only as Charlie \u2013 had no effect. He fired two live rounds in Francis Street from his Glock 17 pistol as Skelton approached a group of workmen and he said he believed their lives were at risk.<\/p>\n<p>Skelton\u2019s parents, Helen and Glen Skelton, have described how their son was a passionate Liverpool fan who also loved music and animals. They said their son struggled with mental health problems.<\/p>\n<p><!-- EMBED START PA Quote --><\/p>\n<figure><script async src=\"https:\/\/content-embed.pressassociation.com\/embeds.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/figure>\n<p><!-- EMBED END PA Quote --><\/p>\n<p>In a formal witness statement read to the court, Glen Skelton said his son started taking heroin when he was about 18 after getting in with the \u201cwrong crowd\u201d. He later developed psychosis and the jury heard he had recently stopped taking his medication when he was shot.<\/p>\n<h5>&#8220;Low threat situation&#8221;<\/h5>\n<p>Humberside Police\u2019s assistant chief constable Chris Noble said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>We are disappointed with this conclusion and are concerned that it does not undermine the confidence of officers to act decisively when making split-second decisions to protect the public.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Noble said the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) investigation found that the actions taken by the officer \u201cwere proportionate to the risk that was identified to members of the public\u201d.<\/p>\n<p>Noble said a recent change in law meant that inquest juries no longer had to use the criminal standard of \u201cbeyond reasonable doubt\u201d to come to an unlawful killing conclusion. He said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Additionally, the jury had to make its decision in very different circumstances to those that confronted the officers on the day. Our officers responded to four 999 calls to a man armed with, and waving, an unsheathed axe marching towards the city centre who did not stop despite four attempts to Taser him.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>Writing for <em>The Canary<\/em>, Sophia Purdy-Moore <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/uk\/analysis\/2021\/10\/16\/united-families-friends-campaign-remembers-victims-of-uk-state-violence\/\">has reported<\/a> on the long history of police officers getting away with what victims&#8217; relatives have called murder.<\/p>\n<p>Family solicitor Neil Hudgell said:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>Lewis had walked past many people, but not approached anyone. Yes, people had expressed concern, but people were not threatened, and when police armed response teams were alerted, they were told it was a \u2018low threat situation\u2019.<\/p>\n<p>Sadly, from that point, a series of events unfolded in which decisions were made which were wholly inappropriate for the situation.<\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p>By <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/author\/thecanary\/\">The Canary<\/a><\/p>\n\n<p class=\"syndicated-attribution\">This post was originally published on <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/uk\/news\/2021\/10\/16\/man-shot-dead-by-police-was-not-a-danger-to-anyone-family-says-after-inquest\/\">The Canary<\/a>. <\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lewis Skelton, 31, died after he was shot twice in the back by an officer in Hull city centre when Tasers had no effect, an inquest jury heard.<\/p>\n<p>By <a rel=\"nofollow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.thecanary.co\/author\/thecanary\/\">The Canary<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1541,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[118,889,4,13,1395],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351386"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1541"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=351386"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351386\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":351387,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/351386\/revisions\/351387"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=351386"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=351386"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/radiofree.asia\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=351386"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}