Flawed Consett shooting case cops quizzed

Mar 20 2011 by Kerry Wood, Sunday Sun

Joe Clarke

SENIOR cops have been questioned under caution about their roles in a flawed shooting investigation.

The officers from Durham Constabulary were quizzed as part of an Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC), launched in the wake of a collapsed attempted murder trial.

Suspects in the case had faced accusations of attempting to kill Joe Clarke by blasting him with a gun.

Five people were due to stand trial in connection with the doorstep shooting but all were cleared when some methods used in evidence gathering by Durham Police were drawn into question.

A judge overseeing the case slammed the investigation by Durham Police as being “a deliberate breach of legal professional privilege”.

Despite several arrests, no one has been brought to book for the vicious wounding of the gun blast victim more than three years ago.

IPCC investigators have now concluded their interviews with officers, and are considering their replies before making a decision on any further action.

An IPCC spokesman said: “These interviews have all now been completed.

“We have now got to go through all the transcripts from these interviews to identify what happens next in terms of whether this matter needs to be passed to the Crown Prosecution Service.”

The high-profile shooting happened in the run up to Christmas when Mr Clarke, then 30, opened the front door to his home in Fairways, Consett, County Durham.

He was confronted on his front lawn by two men brandishing a sawn-off shotgun. They opened fire as he attempted to scramble away.

Despite his body being riddled with 150 pellet wounds he fled down the street.

Joe only escaped his attackers when a neighbour pulled him to safety inside their own home.

The attack is alleged to have stemmed from a row with a former girlfriend.

Eight months after the attack, five suspects were charged in connection with conspiring to murder him.

In an unusual twist, Paul Donoghue, a solicitor to some of the accused, was also arrested.