POLICE UNDER PRESSURE OVER SHOOTING OF UNARMED MAN

IT WAS just after four in the morning on 15 January that a unit of armed
police officers burst into a two-storey flat near Hastings, East Sussex. In
one of the cheap rented rooms lay James Ashley, 39, sleeping alongside
Caroline Courtland-Smith, a 19-year-old student.

Mr Ashley woke to the noise of the front door splintering. As he stood naked
next to his bed, he was shot in the chest by a police marksman and died
despite attempts to revive him.

This week came the unprecedented announcement that an inquiry would be
conducted by a neighbouring force into the conduct of the case by Sussex's
chief constable and three of his senior officers. Meanwhile, a criminal
inquiry could lead to charges against five other officers who have been
suspended.

The morning after the shooting, Paul Whitehouse, the Chief Constable,
defended the actions of his officers. "We were running simultaneously an
operation to track down drug traffickers and also two men who had attempted
to a murder a man by stabbing him. One of them in particular was thought to
be armed and dangerous, and an armed operation was used to arrest him."

At first, the case seemed open and shut. Ashley, it quickly "emerged", had
served two years in jail in 1993 for the manslaughter of a man he punched
during a pub fight. He was a dangerous criminal, the media were told.

But then things started to go wrong for Sussex Police and the fatal shooting
of a Liverpudlian is rapidly becoming a cause celebre.

Sussex Police's version of the events leading to the death of a dangerous
man started to unravel days after the raid: Mr Ashley was unarmed, the only
weapon found was an air pistol, only a tiny quantity of cannabis was
recovered. The three men arrested were later released uncharged.

In May, the Police Complaints Authority took the unusual step of announcing
that, far from being a suspect for an attempted murder, Mr Ashley had
probably saved a life by restraining a knife-wielding attacker fighting
another man.

At the end of May, the inquest into Mr Ashley's death heard that
investigators were being hampered because police officers had been unable to
remember crucial facts about the incident. There were also allegations of
misrepresentations of "intelligence" by senior officers.

Four of the suspended officers are being investigated for allegedly
providing misleading information that led to the armed raid by the Special
Operations Unit. The raid was part of an operation against a gang of cocaine
traffickers. Mr Ashley was suspected of being a courier, although he had no
convictions for drug-dealing.

Indeed, Mr Ashley's lifestyle suggested he was anything but a big-time
criminal. When he moved south to Hastings eight years ago, he easily blended
in among those living in the dilapidated and fading grandeur of the former
Victorian resort which has a large number of unemployed residents, and more
than its share of crime.

Mr Ashley was living in a block of flats next to The Club M - a private
drinking club frequented by middle-aged men - in St Leonards, once an
affluent town adjoining Hastings, but now run-down and neglected, and was a
regular in several of the local pubs and had spent the day before his death
drinking at The Club M - hardly life in the fast lane.

He was mourned not only by Caroline Courtland-Smith, but also his long-time
girlfriend, Debra Crook, Despite the betrayal, she placed an announcement in
a local newspaper declaring: "No one loved him as much as I did."

Witnessing her lover being shot dead has also had a devastating effect on Ms
Courtland-Smith, according to her solicitor. She has left college and is
said to have suffered a breakdown. She intends to sue the police for
damages.

Mr Ashley's family in Liverpool is also preparing to make a legal claim
against the police for the loss of life and use of lethal and excessive
force. The family has already brought a complaint against the Chief
Constable for allegedly trying to sully Mr Ashley's name, but it was
rejected by the Sussex police authority.

An initial inquiry by Kent Police resulted in the suspension of Pc Chris
Sherwood, the officer who pulled the trigger, and four others - a
superintendent, an inspector, a detective inspector, and a police
constable - who are now expected to charged with providing misleading
information. Kent's Assistant Chief Constable, Barbara Wilding, said the
operation was flawed and shambolic.

Such criticism led to the announcement of the second inquiry, into the
conduct of Mr Whitehouse, his Deputy Chief Constable, Mark Jordan, and
Assistant Chief Constables Nigel Yeo and Maria Wallis who will be questioned
by a team led by Hampshire Chief Constable, Sir John Hoddinott.

Once the two inquiries are completed - the first by the end of September,
the second by the end of the year - the Crown Prosecution Service will
consider whether to bring charges. Whatever the outcome, difficult times
loom for Sussex Police.

Checked-by: Don Beck