I demand justice for Andrew and won't rest until I get an answer Marie Kernan

At least four police officers from the Merseyside force went to the flat but Andrew Kernan ran into the street wielding a Samurai sword.

Dressed only in pyjamas, Mr Kernan slashed off the wing mirror of one of the police cars.

After negotiating with him for 25 minutes and using CS gas officers fired two shots.

The second bullet hit Mr Kernan in the chest and he died on the way to hospital.

Assistant Chief Constable of Merseyside Police Mike Tonge defended his officers' actions. He said: "Mr Kernan continued to cause a serious risk to the public and police officer safety, which ultimately led to the discharge of a firearm."

Mr Kernan's uncle Ted Devlin said: "Andrew was a strong lad but surely there were enough police to overpower him. If they had kept him in the flat he would have been alive today."

Neighbours reported seeing Mr Kernan, 37, waving the sword round his head and heard police repeatedly telling him to put it down.

Frightened staff at a local pub, the Wellington, locked its doors when they heard the shouting and saw the swordsman approaching.

Mr Tonge expressed his deepest sympathies to Mr Kernan's family and said the incident had been passed to the Police Complaints Authority (PCA).

Andrew Kernan worked as a gardener and had suffered from schizophrenia for 15 years.

	E-mail this story to a friend