A Huddersfield man who was shot dead by police on the M62 in West Yorkshire nearly six years ago was lawfully killed, an inquest has found.
A jury on Wednesday agreed with the police’s version of events, that the officer who shot 28-year-old Yassar Yaqub had feared for his life.
The jury heard that the officer, referred to during the case only as V39 to protect his identity, shot Yaqub after believing he was reaching for a gun.
Outside the court, Yaqub’s father, Mohammed Yaqub, who was present for every day of the six-week inquest, said it had “been like a nightmare” and the verdict was “difficult to digest”.
He said: “Everything was in the open and it just doesn’t add up. I don’t think it was a lawful killing.”
He said he had spoken to families who had faced similar battles and he knew the likelihood of anything other than a lawful killing verdict had been slim.
“Hardly any of them ever got anywhere, so we were no exception. We need time to see where we go from here but it’s definitely not the end,” he said. “Every day has been like a nightmare. But it’s something as a father I owe to my son.”
The inquest heard that Yassar Yaqub was the front-seat passenger in one of two cars travelling in convoy on 2 January 2017.
Four unmarked police vehicles surrounded the two cars at junction 24 near Huddersfield, after police intelligence that Yaqub was a “highly active criminal”.
Yaqub died from “catastrophic blood loss” after being hit by two bullets fired from 1.5 metres away by V39. Police recovered a gun from the footwell of the car.
The officer told the inquest that Yaqub ignored a command to “show me your hands” and appeared to have “crouched down” and picked up a handgun.
The officer said he had no alternative but to shoot Yaqub through the front windscreen of the car as he had feared for his life.
Michael Mansfield KC, representing Yaqub’s family, argued that V39 had been mistaken and that if Yaqub had crouched down, it would not have been possible to shoot him.
He said: “It’s quite clear if someone is bent down, crouches and leans towards his right, if that’s what he did, he is going below the mound on the dashboard.”
Jurors were told their job during the inquest was to determine what happened on the night of the shooting and that they were the “judges of the facts”. They were reminded that it was not a trial.
The recorder of Leeds, Judge Guy Kearl KC, told the jury they could only return an open verdict or one of lawful killing. They were not allowed to deliver an unlawful killing verdict as there was not enough evidence to make this conclusion.
A lawful killing verdict means that the jury determined Yaqub was killed in self-defence or in defence of others, on the balance of probabilities. The jury thought that the police officer genuinely believed the use of force was necessary and the level of force was appropriate for the situation.
During the inquest, the jury heard from witnesses and were shown photographs, diagrams and CCTV footage. The inquest also heard from Yaqub’s family, including his daughter Jasmine, who was 11 when he was shot.
She said: “I miss my dad more than anything. His presence made me so happy. I wanted to be around him forever but now all I have are memories and pictures, which I will hold on to for ever. My dad would always encourage me to focus on my dreams but since he passed away it’s very hard to, especially in school.”
Zoe Summers, Yaqub’s partner and the mother of his two children, said: “I always felt lucky to have Yassar in my life, especially as we got older. He had such a kind, loving nature and only wanted the best for people around him.”
