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The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has begun three new investigations into Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in relation to the death of Anthony Grainger.

Mr Grainger was fatally wounded in Culcheth, Cheshire, by a GMP firearms officer during a police operation in March 2012, resulting in investigations completed in 2013 and the 2018 respectively (see further below).

Following the conclusion of the Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry in July 2019, GMP made referrals to us in relation to conduct matters arising from Mr Justice Teague QC’s report. We requested a substantial amount of material from GMP which has been under review, alongside the inquiry report, since October 2019.

The new investigations did not form part of our original investigations, as this material was presented as live evidence during the public inquiry.

The new investigations relate to the conduct of six officers, as follows:

Investigation 1: Former Assistant Chief Constable Terry Sweeney, former Superintendent Mark Granby and a former Chief Inspector are under investigation regarding their command and control of the policing operation, on 2 and 3 March 2012, following which Mr Grainger died. This will include the evidence they provided to the IOPC and to the public inquiry. All three former officers are retired. They have been informed that they are under investigation for gross misconduct.

Investigation 2: This will look at GMP’s acquisition of a CS dispersal canister which was not approved by the Home Office and was used during the policing operation in which Mr Grainger died. It will look specifically at the actions of a former Chief Inspector and a former Inspector (both retired). They have been informed that they are under investigation for gross misconduct.

Investigation 3: This will look at the conduct of a serving GMP officer regarding their management of two firearms officers’ training records. Both officers (known as X7 and Z15 during the public inquiry) were present during the police operation in which Mr Grainger was shot. The officer has been informed they are under investigation regarding allegations of misconduct.

IOPC Regional Director Amanda Rowe: “The public inquiry raised further questions about the conduct of some GMP officers before, during, and after the death of Mr Grainger.

“Having these serious matters brought to our attention meant we had to fully consider both Mr Justice Teague QC’s report, and these referrals, before deciding what further actions we may need to take.

“The inquiry heard live evidence, some of it new, and therefore not available to us for our original investigations. It is therefore important that these matters should be scrutinised by way of independent and impartial investigations.

“GMP has cooperated fully with this process. We will consider publication of the reports relating to the death of Mr Grainger when all our work is completed.”

Outstanding matters concerning the original IOPC investigations

An IOPC investigation which began in October 2017 looked at the evidence given by former GMP Assistant Constable (ACC), Steven Heywood, at the public inquiry, while he was still a serving officer.

Our investigation found there was an indication that he may have committed a criminal offence. Our report, along with supporting evidence, was shared with the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) in May 2018. The CPS decided not to charge Mr Heywood with any offence.

We also found that Mr Heywood has a case to answer for gross misconduct. GMP agreed with this in November 2018, but they have not set a date for a gross misconduct hearing.

A second investigation linked to the inquiry looked at the conduct of Detective Chief Inspector (DCI) Robert Cousen, who gave evidence because of his role as the senior investigating officer.

This investigation was completed in May 2018 and our findings were shared with GMP. It was agreed that DCI Cousen’s actions did not amount to misconduct, and this was a performance matter that should be dealt with by management action.

For more information on the investigations relating to the death of Anthony Grainger, go to: https://www.policeconduct.gov.uk/investigations/anthony-grainger-greater-manchester-police

The 2013 investigation was completed by the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), which is now the IOPC.

The 2018 investigation was started by the IPCC, and completed by the IOPC.

Access to information about the Anthony Grainger Public Inquiry can be found here: https://www.graingerinquiry.org.uk/