THE family of a man shot dead by police are calling for an investigation into his death to be completed — four years after it happened.

Former soldier Sean Fitzgerald, 31, died after being shot in the chest by an officer of the West Midlands force as he left a property in Burnaby Road in Coventry on January 4 2019. 

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation but it has still not been completed. 

In April 2021, the IOPC announced that the firearms officer who shot Mr Fitzgerald had been served with a gross misconduct notice over his use of force. In March 2022, the IOPC announced it was also investigating the officer for potential homicide offences. 

An inquest into the death has been adjourned pending the outcome of the investigation.

Mr Fitzgerald’s family has asked the IOPC for a date by which their report will be finalised and a decision made over whether there will be a prosecution, including potential criminal charges against the officer who fired the shot. 

The victim’s brother Liam Fitzgerald called the last four years a nightmare, saying: “It has now been four years since Sean was killed by a West Midlands police officer, we believe unlawfully. Four years of sorrow and anger for our loss of a brother, uncle, stepson, partner and friend.

“We grieve Sean’s loss of missed opportunities, missed family occasions, births of new family members and milestones, and his own loss of the chance to have a family of his own.

“We have had to fight and argue our case to seek to ensure a thorough investigation, an investigation that we were told would take three to six months.”

Anita Sharma, head of casework at Inquest, said the IOPC’s investigation is one of the longest standing the legal charity has seen in recent years.

She said: “Bereaved families and the public deserve urgent and robust scrutiny of the highest standard following lethal use of police force.

“It is unacceptable: the ongoing delay not only compounds the pain and grief of Sean’s family but also frustrates the role the IOPC has in the prevention of further deaths.

“The IOPC must now provide the family with the dignity of a date by which their investigation will conclude and the long-awaited answers around the full circumstances of Sean’s death.”

The IOPC was invited to comment.