SHOT PC WAS NOT WEARING BODY ARMOUR

Pc Ian Terry was playing the role of a criminal fleeing in a car when he was blasted in the chest from a high-powered gun.

The 32-year-old was rushed to North Manchester General Hospital after the incident, around 11.30am on Monday, but doctors could not save his life.

He had been shot during the exercise at a disused warehouse in Newton Heath, north Manchester, being used by officers to practice firearms exercises.

The Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) is investigating the incident and said Pc Terry died after being struck by a single shot discharged from a shotgun carried by a colleague.

An IPCC spokesman has confirmed that initial findings suggested Pc Terry was not wearing body armour. He said the officer was shot with "Round Irritant Personnel" ammunition, which disperses CS gas.

The spokesman said the CS gas would be substituted with white powder during a training exercise.

The 'hard-stop' exercises police practice, involves officers blasting a CS canister into suspects cars to disable the occupants and other officers pulling alongside to shoot out the wheels.

The spokesman added that Pc Terry was sitting in the front passenger seat of a Suzuki Vitara jeep when he was fatally shot.

He said: "We are looking into whether he should have been wearing body armour. There's a wide range of things to be looked at."