Armed officer believed shot man had knife

A firearms officer has told an inquest it was their "honestly held belief" a man was still holding a knife to a child's throat when they continued firing at him.

Sergii Kuzmenko was shot seven times by Cumbria Police officers, who were responding to reports of a man making threats to kill while a young child was present, at a house in Carlisle on 19 December 2022.

The inquest jury was shown bodycam footage that showed Kuzmenko dropped the knife after the third shot, but the officer fired three more times.

Officer C, as they have been identified in court, told the inquest at Workington they believed the child's life was still at risk having not seen the knife fall from Kuzmenko's hand.

The shooting happened at a house on Borland Avenue where officers responded to a 999 call from the man's sister.

The jury was shown Officer C's body cam footage slowed to half speed.

When asked by counsel to the inquest Joseph Hart if they would have taken shots four, five and six if they had seen the knife drop, the officer replied: "Absolutely not."

Officer C fired six shots while their colleague, Officer L, fired one.

Officer L told the hearing they too failed to see Kuzmenko drop the knife after shot three, but counsel for Kuzmenko's family Leila Benyounes said: "Something very much went wrong in this case.

"Two officers fired shots that were unnecessary."

Officer L disagreed and said: "I always believed that Sergii was going to kill that child."

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.

The jury also heard Kuzmenko was Ukrainian and "spoke limited English".

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

Follow BBC Cumbria on X, Facebook, Nextdoor and Instagram and listen to Radio Cumbria on BBC Sounds.