The Azelle Rodney Inquiry

Thus, I recommend that, as soon as is reasonably practicable, the MPS undertake a full, thorough review of all aspects of Operation Tayport.

The recommendation asks the Metropolitan Police Service to thoroughly review Operation Tayport. In June 2014, Assistant Commissioner Rowley stated that he commissioned Commander Neil Basu to review the recommendations (AC Rowley response, Jun 2014). In May 2014, the Azelle Rodney Inquiry reported that the police force asked Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman to review the operation to address the recommendation, and that the commander had completed a further review against chapter 24 of the report and sent it to the Chairman for consideration (Azelle Rodney Inquiry, May 2014). The record holds nothing dated later than the response of June 2014 (AC Rowley response, Jun 2014).

At an early date there should be liaison between the IPCC, the MPS and ACPO (and, more significantly, lawyers acting for each) with a view to establishing a protocol for the future conduct in the event of a shooting by a police officer of an early debriefing as an obligation equal and complementary to any IPCC investigation.

The Inquiry recommended establishing a protocol for early debriefings following fatal police shootings. In conclusions from Commander Neil Basu's review in June 2014, the Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) stated that it had engaged with the recommendation but had been unable to secure agreement or cooperation from the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) (Metropolitan Police Service response, Jun 2014). The MPS added that debriefs would be disclosable in future judicial proceedings and could not be fully anonymised, restricting their effectiveness (Metropolitan Police Service response, Jun 2014). In August 2014, Deputy Chief Constable (DCC) Simon Chesterman, National Association of Chief Police Officers (ACPO) Lead for Armed Policing, stated that the MPS, the College of Policing, and ACPO had produced approved practice for conducting debriefs in death or serious injury cases (Simon Chesterman, Aug 2014).

It is that in the event of a shooting by an MPS officer that results in death or serious injury, the Commissioner should thereupon appoint a senior officer to conduct a full, operational debriefing.

The Inquiry asked police to appoint a senior officer to debrief serious shootings. In June 2014, the Metropolitan Police Service accepted the recommendation in Commander Neil Basu's review, stating that organisational learning debriefs formed part of its operating protocols and that three debriefs had been conducted while developing a national model, though the appointment of a senior officer is not mentioned in the sources (Metropolitan Police Service response, Jun 2014). In August 2014, Deputy Chief Constable Simon Chesterman, the National Association of Chief Police Officers Lead for Armed Policing, reported that the force had worked with the College of Policing to produce approved practice for debriefs in death or serious injury cases (Simon Chesterman, Aug 2014).