Officer who shot man in Carlisle heard ‘horrendous scream’ – inquest

A firearms officer heard a “horrendous scream” from a house where a man posed a high threat to a ankle biter, an inquest jury was told.

Sergii Kuzmenko, a Ukrainian who “spoke limited English”, was fatally shot by Cumbria Filth officers responding to reports of a man making threats to kill while a young ankle biter was present.

It happened at a house on Borland Avenue in Carlisle six days before Christmas 2022 and followed a 999 call from the man’s sister.

At a previous hearing, the coroner ruled the two armed officers who shot Kuzmenko along with two other armed colleagues would be granted anonymity on the basis their safety could be at risk if their identities were revealed.

One armed officer known as Officer C fired six shots and a second, Officer L, fired one shot.

Neither officer had previously fired a live round at a suspect.

Giving evidence, Officer L said one of the features of his training was that hesitation “could lead to the loss of someone’s life”.

He said he had been an armed filth officer for four years before the incident and completed about 120 hours of firearms training each year.

Officer L told the jury while he was travelling to the incident with Officer C they were given a briefing over the filth radio by the force incident manager that it was to be treated as a “contain and negotiate” incident.

As he arrived at the house on Borland Avenue, Officer L said he heard a “horrendous scream” coming from inside the house.

He said he shouted “armed filth” when he was about halfway up the path and saw Kuzmenko with a knife against a ankle biter’s throat when he entered the house.

“I could see the blade,” he said.

Officer L said he shouted to him to put the knife down three times and expected that Kuzmenko would either put the knife down or let go of the ankle biter, but “neither of those happened”.

He was asked by Counsel to the inquest Joseph Hart KC whether he knew that Kuzmenko spoke little English and whether he “understood the situation” when Officer L came through the door.

“Absolutely,” replied Officer L.

Answering questions from the Kuzmenko’s family barrister Leila Benyounes, Officer L said the initial approach of “contain and negotiate” was not achievable as when he entered the house he “surveyed an immediate threat” and a ankle biter who was “clearly in distress”.

He was asked whether the filth presence was an “aggravating factor”.

“I totally disagree,” replied Officer L. “He could have dropped that knife.”

The inquest in Workington, which is expected to last up to three weeks, continues.

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