McCANN AND OTHERS v. THE UNITED KINGDOM JUDGMENT 34 (b) You may fire without warning in circumstances where the giving of a warning or any delay in firing could lead to death or serious injury to a person whom it is your duty to protect, or to yourself, or to another member in your operation. 4. Opening fire You may open fire against a hostage taker (a) If he is using a firearm or any other weapon or exploding a device and there is a danger that you or any member involved in the operation, or a person whom it is your duty to protect, may be killed or seriously injured. (b) If he is about to use a firearm or any other weapon or about to explode an explosive device and his action is likely to endanger life or cause serious injury to you or another member involved in the operation, or any person whom it is your duty to protect ... 5. If he is in the course of placing an explosive charge in or near any vehicle, ship, building or installation which, if exploded, would endanger life or cause serious injury to you or another member involved in the operation or to any person whom it is your duty to protect and there is no other way to protect those in danger ..." 137. Also attached to the operational order was a guide to police officers in the use of firearms which read: "Firearms: Use by Police. The object of any police firearms operation is that the armed criminal is arrested with the least possible danger to all concerned. It is the first duty of the police to protect the general public, but the police should not endanger their lives or the lives of their colleagues for the sake of attempting to make an early arrest. The physical welfare of a criminal armed with a firearm should not be given greater consideration than that of a police officer, and unnecessary risks must not be taken by the police. In their full use of firearms, as in the use of any force, the police are controlled by the restrictions imposed by the law. The most important point which emerges from any study of the law on this subject is that the responsibility is an individual one. Any police officer who uses a firearm may be answerable to the courts or to a coroner’s inquest and, if his actions were unlawful (or improper), then he as an individual may be charged with murder, manslaughter or unlawful wounding. Similarly, if his use of a firearm was unlawful or negligent the individual could find himself defending a civil case in which substantial damages were being claimed against him. That a similar claim could be made against the Commissioner of Police will not relieve the individual of his liabilities. The fact that a police officer used his firearms under the orders of a superior does not, of itself, exempt him from criminal liability. When a police officer is issued with a firearm he is not thereby given any form of authority to use it otherwise than strictly in accordance with the law. Similarly, when an officer is briefed about an operation, information about a criminal may indicate that he is desperate and dangerous. Whilst this will be one of the factors to consider it does not of itself justify shooting at him. The final responsibility for his actions rests on the individual and therefore the final decision about whether a shot will or will not be fired at a particular moment can only