Police request anonymity at shooting death inquest

Sean Fitzgerald was fatally shot at a house in Coventry in January 2019

A coroner has been asked to grant anonymity to police officers who were involved in an operation that led to a former soldier's death, ahead of an inquest.

Sean Fitzgerald, 31, was injured as he left a house in Coventry during a planned police operation.

He died after receiving a single bullet wound to his chest in Burnaby Road on 4 January 2019.

The coroner's court said a number of police officers had asked to be anonymised, and their applications would be considered at a pre-inquest hearing on 28 June.

An earlier hearing in 2019 was told that the West Midlands Police officer who shot Mr Fitzgerald was being investigated.

But in January it emerged the officer would not be prosecuted over the death, though they faced a charge of gross misconduct.

The case had been examined by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) following a mandatory referral from the police force.

Mr Fitzgerald's family said they were still without answers about his death

Five years on from the shooting, Mr Fitzgerald's family said they were still waiting for answers about his death.

Speaking at a protest held on the anniversary of the shooting, his partner Sharlene Whetstone said: "We can't even grieve yet, how can we grieve when they're just saying he's gone and no-one is saying why?"