Anthony Grainger death: Police misconduct hearing dropped

Anthony Grainger was shot dead in Culcheth in 2012

A misconduct hearing against a former assistant chief constable accused of misleading a public inquiry into a fatal shooting has been dropped.

Allegations against Steven Heywood, who retired from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) in 2018, were dismissed by a panel at an online hearing.

He was investigated by the police watchdog over the death of Anthony Grainger in Cheshire in 2012.

Chair of the panel Nahied Asjad said the public had been "let down".

GMP has apologised "for the errors which were made" after the force made the decision not to pursue these proceedings.

"The chair in her comments has been clear that the panel are of the view that GMP did not deal with some key elements of this matter in an appropriate way," said Deputy Chief Constable Ian Pilling.

"Whilst we need to examine the comments more fully, we absolutely accept that mistakes have been made and this matter should have been handled much more effectively."

Mr Heywood was investigated by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after giving evidence at an inquiry into the death of Mr Grainger, 36, who was fatally shot by a firearms officer in a car park in Culcheth.

The investigation found Mr Heywood may have committed a criminal offence but in November 2018 the Crown Prosecution Service decided not to charge him due to insufficient evidence.

He had faced a gross misconduct hearing for allegedly breaching force standards of honesty and integrity.

Former Assistant Chief Constable Steven Heywood was investigated over evidence he gave to an inquiry

On Monday Gerry Boyle QC, representing GMP, said Mr Heywood's firearms log, which was used in evidence in the 2017 public inquiry, contained inaccurate information about Mr Grainger's previous convictions.

He said it was asserted that entries in the log were made to "misrepresent" the information available at the time and to "retrospectively justify" Mr Heywood's decision to authorise a firearms operation carried out in the days leading up to Mr Grainger's death.

But on Tuesday Mr Boyle said it would be "unfair" to continue as the hearing would not have access to redacted material.

Dismissing the allegations, chairwoman of the panel Nahied Asjad criticised the delay in the proceedings.

She said: "Mr Grainger's family, Mr Heywood and the public have been let down by the appropriate authority in this case and we note there was no contrition or apology to anyone."

Mr Boyle had asked for an adjournment in the case to see whether redactions could be lifted.

But John Beggs QC, representing Mr Heywood, said it would not be possible for the redacted evidence to be heard and accused the force of an "omnishambles" for delays in the case.

Last year the public inquiry into Mr Grainger's death criticised senior officers for a "catastrophic series of failings and errors".