Harry Stanley, a Scottish labourer with a broken table leg in a bag, was mistaken for an ‘Irishman with a gun’ before being fatally shot by two police officers
A man carrying a broken table leg was shot dead by police after he stopped at a London pub for a lemonade. In 1999, 46-year-old Harry Stanley was approached by police officers as he walked home.
Mr Stanley, a Scottish labourer, had been to visit his brother to help fix a broken table leg, and on his way home went into the Alexandra Pub (now known as The Lauriston) in Hackney. As he left with the table leg in a blue bag, somebody in the pub called the police, reporting an “Irishman with a gun.”
The father of three lived in Hackney with his wife, Irene. After being confronted by PC Kevin Fagan, who described in an inquest how he saw Mr Stanley walking with a cylindrical object in his hand. After telling Mr Stanley to “drop it”, PC Fagan said that Mr Stanley went to grip the object in both hands, and then took a shot. At the same time, his colleague, Inspector Neil Sharman, also fired his gun and shot him in the head.
The first inquest into his 2002 death recorded an open verdict, a second inquest in 2004 ruled his death was ruled as being ‘unlawful’. However, a year later, in May 2005, a High Court judge said there was “insufficient evidence” for the verdict and reversed the verdict, citing that there was “insufficient evidence”. The family were were refused the right to appeal this ruling.
Now, 26 years later, artist and Hackney resident, Tara Darby, has made a documentary for the BBC looking into his death and questioning what happened on that fateful evening. She even speaks to his widow, Irene, about Harry’s death, the fact that local people in Hackney may not know his story, and why a memorial should be installed for him.
She told MyLondon: “I thought the shooting had taken place somewhere else in Hackney, then I saw it was actually around where I live now. It’s a terrible story and a real injustice. He was recovering from an operation, went into a pub for a drink and because somebody thought he was Irish, they phoned the police and said ‘there’s an Irishman with a shotgun’. The police didn’t make it clear – to Harry, they were people shouting at him who had guns in their hands.
“This is an important piece of Hackney history. The family received no compensation, and his widow, Irene, is incredible. She has such an amazing spirit, and this destroyed her. I wanted to create this documentary to help focus attention on other police shootings that haven’t had any resolutions. There should at least be a memorial for Harry. Speaking to Irene, she says this is important so people won’t forget and with people moving in and out, stories don’t get told, and they die.”
Tara’s documentary ‘Justice for Harry Stanley’ will be part of BBC Radio 4’s New Storytellers series and will air on July 15 at 1.45pm. In it, she interviews local residents and family members who are still trying to process what happened that evening and its aftermath.
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