Birmingham police shooting: Man killed in Lee Bank
A man has been shot dead by armed police in Birmingham city centre during an "intelligence-led operation".
Six firearms officers had gone to a block of flats in Wheeleys Lane, Lee Bank, to carry out an arrest when the shooting happened at about 05:00 GMT. The man - in his 50s - died at the scene, West Midlands Police said. The police watchdog said it was reviewing officers' bodycam footage, which it believed had captured the shooting. Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) Commissioner Derrick Campbell said: "My understanding at this stage is it has captured everything that took place during the incident - including the shot - that's my understanding. "We are viewing the footage to see what takes place." Mr Campbell said officers had been carrying out the execution of a warrant to "try and arrest the individual". "They notified my office just before 6am that an officer had discharged their weapon and someone had been shot," he said. "My team deployed to the scene. By that time the person had died at the scene." A team of six firearms officers were executing the warrant on the building's fourth floor. Mr Campbell said it was carrying out a "thorough" investigation and forensic material was being taken and analysed. West Midlands Ambulance Service said it was called at 05:04 and found a man in cardiac arrest. "CPR was already being performed, which ambulance staff took over and also administered advanced life support," a spokesman said. "However, despite everyone's best efforts it sadly became apparent nothing could be done to save him." West Midlands Police and Crime Commissioner David Jamieson said he scrutinised "police use of force very closely" and was monitoring the situation. It is the second fatal shooting by West Midlands Police this year. The IOPC is investigating the death of Sean Fitzgerald who was killed by armed police in an operation in Coventry in January. The previous fatal shooting was in 1996, the force said. It is the fourth time the force has deployed a firearm since 2017, when ex-gang member Sharif Cousins was shot in the chest in an alleyway in Rubery. Mr Cousins survived and was the first person to have been shot by a West Midlands Police officer since 2000.