WIREDGOV

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) has re-opened an investigation into the fatal shooting of Lewis Skelton by Humberside Police, following a judicial review of our decision not to reinvestigate.

It comes after the High Court quashed our decision that the threshold was not met for us to re-open the investigation into the death of Mr Skelton, who was shot twice by an armed officer in Hull on 29 November 2016. He was armed with an axe at the time and other efforts to detain him, including the use of Taser, had been unsuccessful.

The original investigation, completed by our predecessor, the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) in November 2017, found the officer had acted in the genuine belief the use of force was necessary to protect the lives of members of the public nearby. The officer was treated as a witness during the investigation, rather than being investigated for their conduct.

However, an inquest, which concluded almost four years later, found Mr Skelton was unlawfully killed.

IOPC Regional Director Emily Barry said: “Our thoughts remain with Mr Skelton’s family and loved ones as well as all those whose lives have been affected by his death.

“While we are disappointed with the High Court ruling, which used a different interpretation of our reinvestigation policy than we did, we respect the judge’s findings. Having carefully considered their comments, we believe there is now a requirement for the IOPC to re-open the investigation into the shooting of Mr Skelton.

“We are extremely conscious of the impact this decision will have on all those involved. While the length of inquest and legal proceedings are beyond our control, we know that it benefits nobody to have key questions unanswered so long after Mr Skelton’s death.

“We also appreciate that this decision will be concerning for many of the armed officers who put their own safety at risk to protect the public. A dedicated team, with no connection to the original IPCC investigation, has been set up to ensure this investigation is completed as quickly and proportionately as possible. 

“We are also reviewing our reinvestigation policy, in light of the judge’s comments, to ensure it more accurately reflects the original intent behind it.” 

Following the inquest conclusion in October 2021, we carried out a detailed review of the original investigation, and the inquest jury’s findings.

Applying the test set out in our reinvestigation policy, we ultimately concluded the threshold was not met for us to re-open the investigation in this case.

We shared a detailed explanation of that decision with Humberside Police and Mr Skelton’s family in November 2022. This was subject to a judicial review and the High Court ruling was delivered on 26 April 2024.

We have now informed Mr Skelton’s family, Humberside Police and the officer in question that we have re-opened the investigation. As is standard in investigations of this nature, the lead investigator must now determine whether there is an indication anyone serving with the police may have committed a criminal offence or behaved in a way that would justify bringing disciplinary proceedings.