Richard Cottier: Man shot by police officers was lawfully killed, inquest finds

A man who was fatally injured by Met Police officers after telling them he had a gun was lawfully killed, an inquest has found.

Richard Cottier, 41, was shot outside a petrol station in Romford, east London, in the early hours of 9 April 2018.

The inquest heard he had taken a drug overdose, was making threats and claimed to have a firearm.

On Tuesday the inquest jury returned a unanimous decision that the father-of-three had been lawfully killed.

Mr Cottier was pronounced dead 30 minutes after the shooting happened at about 04:45 BST.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct said a non-police firearm had been recovered from the scene and a ballistics expert had confirmed it was a modified air rifle.

Mr Cottier's partner, Melissa Cottier, had told the inquest the 41-year-old's actions were a "cry for help" and he had been "backed into a corner" at the Esso petrol station in Collier Row.

However, one of the firearms officers who shot Mr Cottier said he "honestly believed" he was going to be killed after the father-of-three ignored police warnings and "pointed the weapon directly at myself".

Following the inquest, Cmdr Kyle Gordon, of the Met's specialist firearms command, said his "deepest condolences" were with Mr Cottier's family.

He added: "My colleagues that met Mr Cottier that morning acted in accordance with both their training and my expectations.

"When Mr Cottier lifted the weapon he was holding towards the officers, they were forced to act."