Police officer 'may face murder charge'

Anthony Grainger was unarmed when he was shot as he sat in a car in Culcheth, near Warrington Credit: IPCC

A Greater Manchester Police firearms officer has been warned he could face a murder charge for shooting an unarmed man in a village car park.

The Greater Manchester Police officer was interviewed under criminal caution by the police watchdog over the death of Anthony Paul Grainger.

Mr Grainger, 36, died of a single gunshot wound to the chest after the car he was in was stopped in Culcheth, Cheshire, last month.

An Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) statement said: "The officer has been interviewed on suspicion that he may have committed a criminal offence.

"The IPCC remains in close liaison with the Crown Prosecution Service and at this stage a range of potential offences are under consideration, including unlawful act manslaughter and murder."

Mr Grainger died in what police described as a "pre-planned operation".

But the IPCC said no weapons were found in the vehicle, which had been stolen and had false registration plates.

The watchdog told Mr Grainger's family last week that the shooting was being investigated as a criminal matter.

Mr Grainger, an "odd job man", was born in Salford and lived in Deane Church Lane, Bolton.