A RETIRED senior police officer last night criticised the Independent Police Complaints Commission investigation into the fatal shooting of his brother by a police marksman.

Former Detective Inspector Stephen Richards spoke out at the end of an inquest that yesterday returned a verdict that his brother, Keith, was lawfully killed.

Mr Richards said he accepted the verdict of the jury, which also found armed officers properly identified themselves to his 47-year-old brother, who was armed with a crossbow.

The inquest heard how Mr Richards, a father-of-two, was deep in debt, having lost his home and business. He feared that a drink-driving conviction would ruin his life and had been drinking heavily shortly before the siege began.

The incident of May 12, 2009, was the first time Durham Police had used lethal force after Mr Richards fired a crossbow and an air rifle from a bedroom of his home, in Cheapside, Shildon.

He had threatened to take his own life or that of an officer if police did not kill him.

Durham Coroner, Andrew Tweddle, put a number of questions to the jury of six men and five women sitting in the Work Place, Newton Aycliffe.

Issues of lawfulness, the armed officers shouting warnings and Mr Richards’ intentions were resolved unanimously after more than 11 days of evidence and two days of deliberations.

The jury foreman said it was likely Mr Richards had intended to be shot by armed police.

He had said as much in a series of 999 calls and was standing in a “threatening manner” with the crossbow.

In addition, the jury found by majority verdict that the armed officers had adequate training to deal with a crossbow threat and that Mr Richards had intended to cause the officers serious harm.

The final point is disputed by his brother, who cited Paul Olden, a ballistics expert, who told the inquest that although the crossbow was technically lethal, it was extremely unlikely to kill. However, the former Cleveland Police detective said the IPCC had failed to deliver on its promise of an independent, thorough and professional investigation.

Mr Richards said the IPCC left an air rifle in the property, sent a glazier to fix a window they said had not been shot out and even told him that Keith had been shot twice.

“They were embarrassed to be reminded they were in fact the Independent Police Complaints Commission,” he said.

During the inquest, the jury heard Mr Richards was hit by two bullets.

According to ballistics tests, one, which passed through his torso, enabled him to pinpoint where Mr Richards had been standing when he was shot and determine that he was likely to have been aiming at the officers who fired at him.

Mr Richards also claimed the IPCC was still gathering vital evidence, regarding whether or not his brother was right-handed, ten minutes before the inquest began.

He said: “This caused us much distress and, although we received a written apology from the IPCC, it is fair to say the damage was already done.

“As the people who knew him best, we are certain Keith did not intend to harm anyone that night.

“We accept the verdict of the jury, but still strongly feel it should have been possible for the police to contain the situation longer to allow for specialist trained negotiators who were arriving at the scene when shots were fired.”

IPCC commissioner Nicholas Long said the outcome of the investigation reached findings that have been supported by the outcome of the inquest.

He said: “The IPCC accepted there were some errors and miscommunication at the outset of this investigation and for that we have apologised.

“It is evident those errors added to the distress of Mr Richards’ family and that is the last thing we wanted.

“As with all our investigations, we will learn from any errors that have been made.”