Inquest jury finds man shot dead on M62 by police was lawfully killed
Yassar Yaqub was shot dead near Ainley Top in January 2017
Last updated 3rd Nov 2022
The jury in the inquest into the death of a man shot dead by police on the M62 has concluded he was lawfully killed.
28-year-old Yassar Yaqub was in the front passenger seat of an Audi which was brought to a stop by unmarked police cars at Junction 24 on January 2nd 2017.
He was shot in the chest from a distance of 1.5 metres by an officer leaning out of his car window – and died at the scene from ‘catastrophic blood loss’.
Over the last six weeks the inquest has heard how the 28-year-old had been under surveillance by a team of police, who described him as a ‘highly active criminal’.
On 2nd January, undercover officers had followed Mr Yaqub and his associates from a restaurant in Bradford onto the M62 towards Huddersfield. The inquest heard they had intelligence to suggest one or more of the men may have a firearm.
The Audi was travelling in convoy with a Sirocco when both vehicles were surrounded by four unmarked police vehicles at the slip-road near Ainley Top.
The police officer who pulled the trigger, known only as V39, told the inquest he felt he “had no alternative” and that he feared for his life.
He said Mr Yaqub ignored the command to ‘show me your hands’ and instead leaned forward before bringing a gun above the dashboard.
He fired three shots, with two of the bullets hitting Mr Yaqub in the chest.
It was put to V39 in court that Mr Yaqub couldn’t have received the wounds that he did if he had been crouching down – but V39 insisted he ‘had not made a mistake’.
Officers later found a handgun in the footwell of the passenger seat of the Audi where Mr Yaqub had been sitting.
Reacting to the ruling, West Yorkshire Police Chief Constable, John Robins, QPM DL, has said: "The inquest recently concluded into the death of Mr Yassar Yaqub, who was fatally shot by a police firearms officer, on the 2nd of January 2017.
"The loss of life in any circumstances is, of course, tragic and our sympathies remain with the Yaqub family for the loss of their loved one.
"But I also want to acknowledge how difficult the past five to six years have also been for the officers and staff who were directly involved.
"This has been a constant in their lives, from the incident itself, the criminal prosecutions, the investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct and finally the recent inquest itself.
"During the IOPC investigation, officers and staff were rightly treated as witnesses throughout.
"The outcome of that investigation did not raise any criminal or misconduct issues for any officers or staff.
"During the inquest I followed the daily proceedings. My overwhelming impression was of the professionalism, knowledge, expertise and compassion displayed by all the officers and staff involved.
"I hope that people will now see that the tragic loss of life, unfortunate as it was, was necessary to keep the public safe in what was a rapidly unfolding and dangerous situation.
"It is thankfully rare that any police action results in the death of an individual. When it does, it is right that we are open to full scrutiny, just as in this case.
"The actions of all involved have been scrutinised by both the IOPC and now by a Jury before a Coroner.
"The inquest has provided a clear and transparent understanding of what happened. Our sole intention was to safely detain Mr Yaqub and to remove illegally held firearms from our streets.
"However, as events rapidly unfolded, it is obvious that the threat at the time was real and as a result an officer had to take the necessary and proportionate action.
"Firearms officers perform a highly skilled and incredibly demanding role. They are brave and courageous people, who keep us all safe.
"I believe the individuals who make up West Yorkshire Police’s firearms teams are amongst the best in the world. It is a job that carries a huge responsibility and sometimes means making the hardest of all decisions.
"Police officers and staff face dangers every day to keep the public safe. I am proud of them and the work they do.
"But they can only do it with the support and understanding of all of the communities we serve and I remain committed to policing being professional, open and transparent.
"So, I hope that the inquest has helped explain in detail what occurred in the lead up to the death of Mr Yaqub."
The family of Yassar Yaqub have released a statement throuhg the families solicitor.
Mohammed Yaqub, Yassar’s father, said:
“We have not been able to challenge what West Yorkshire Police have said about Yassar or the so-called intelligence but we must now set the record straight. The police have portrayed him as someone he was not. There were significant inaccuracies in the summary details of intelligence that we received through the inquest that distorted and exaggerated the threat presented by Yassar. He was not the serious criminal alleged by them. He was kind hearted and loved his family. His smile lit up every room. He was well respected in the community, and never out of employment. Although he should not be, as he is not here to defend himself, it has felt like Yassar has been on trial in this inquest.”
"The evidence in the Inquest has showed that the officer that shot Yassar, who has been called ‘V39’ throughout, did not shout a warning to Yassar when they started the hard stop. Nor did he wear a police hat or anything that would identify him as a police officer.”
Mohammed Yaqub continued to say:
“V39 has not told the truth at all. V39 said that Yassar was crouching and his torso was “out of sight” when he was shot. This is a lie as the forensic evidence from the pathologist and ballistics experts’ shows Yassar was sitting upright. So V39 could not have seen a gun in Yassar’s hands. None of the officers, except for Officer V39, even claims to have seen either the gun in Yassar’s hand, or any attempt by him to crouch down.”
“The gun that was found had no fingerprints, DNA evidence or any forensic trace of Yassar on it at all. There was also evidence that Yassar was on the phone at the time of the shooting including from a person he was speaking to. V39 was rushing and did not give himself an opportunity to see what was really in Yassar’s hand”
He added:
“V39 did not inform any of his colleagues in the immediate aftermath of the presence of a gun (or that it was him that fired the shots at Yassar).
“Yassar would not have challenged the police or produced a weapon when they stopped the car on the M62. He was young and wanted to live, and be a good father to his children and take care of us in our old age. If he had known that he was surrounded by the police, he would have surrendered. We cannot find a single example of someone who is subject to a hard stop ever firing back.
"We are shocked and do not understand the verdict that this was lawful killing. We believe Yassar was unlawfully killed by V39. He was killed for no good reason. My family and I were cruelly robbed of Yassar. The chance to say our last words was missed.
“We believe the Coroner’s decision not to allow the jury to consider whether Yassar was unlawfully killed was gravely wrong. The jury is the decision maker; not the Coroner. The Coroner has created injustice by not allowing the jury to decide these things – he has just decided what happened himself.
"We are actively considering our options with our legal team about whether to challenge this decision.
“Finally, we thank everyone for the enormous support we have received throughout.”
The Family’s solicitors, Imran Khan KC and Daniel Lemberger Cooper, said:
“The family’s lawyers will be considering next steps and advising the family.”