A police officer employed 'necessary, proportionate and reasonable force' when they fatally shot a knife-wielding man at a railway station, according to a police watchdog investigation.
David Joyce, 38, was shot in the abdomen by a Thames Valley Police firearms officer on April 1 last year after he rushed towards them and another armed officer outside Milton Keynes Central station.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) concluded that the officer who shot Mr Joyce believed there was an immediate threat to life and that their use of force was 'lawful'.
Police were summoned at 12.54pm to a report of a man at the station carrying a gun and a knife.
The IOPC stated that Mr Joyce had dialled 999 himself, informing an operator: 'There is a man with a gun down at the train station in Milton Keynes.' He then terminated the call before the call handler rang him back. Mr Joyce subsequently claimed the man with the gun was behaving suspiciously, appeared to be about to do something harmful, and 'definitely' had a gun.
Armed officers arrived ten minutes later and encountered Mr Joyce 'seconds' after exiting their vehicle. Despite being instructed to stop, Mr Joyce charged at the two firearms officers wielding a 12cm steak knife, prompting one officer to fire a single shot into his abdomen.
Following the shooting, Mr Joyce was briefly handcuffed 'due to the continued perceived risk', a measure the investigation found consistent with training and national guidance. The officers promptly administered first aid before paramedics arrived, but the Irishman, originally from County Galway, was pronounced dead at 1.44pm.
No weapon other than the knife was discovered at the scene.
Mr Joyce had been released from prison months prior to his death after serving time for possession of firearms and manufacturing his own gun three years earlier. Photographs posted on his Facebook page depicted him aiming a rifle and a bow and arrow in a woodland area. He also shared an image of a Taser he had constructed from a '200,000 voltage ignition coil' and boasted of creating a 'burning laser' capable of cutting through plastic and causing instant blindness.
The Daily Mail reported that Mr Joyce, a cannabis user, had become agitated and paranoid hours before the incident, telling a neighbour 'the police are out to get me'. Days after his death, a neighbour recounted: 'He was a quiet lad, didn't say much but I think he had some mental health issues. On the day he was shot, he came to my gate and started talking to me. He was very paranoid and said: "Can't you see them? The cameras…they're following me everywhere. The police are out to get me." It was a bizarre conversation but a few hours later he was shot dead by armed police. He had a knife apparently and ran at them but I wonder if they could have handled it differently because he was clearly unwell.'
Another neighbour added: 'He'd only been out of prison a few months. I used to see him smoking weed outside the block. The smell would drift up to my flat. He kept to himself and didn't have much family in the area.'
Following the investigation, IOPC Director Derrick Campbell stated: 'This was a tragic incident which resulted in the loss of life, and our thoughts remain with Mr Joyce's family and friends. Our role was to independently examine the circumstances and determine whether police actions were in line with policy and legislation. Having carefully reviewed all of the available evidence, we found that officers were responding to reports of a man believed to be armed and acted quickly in a rapidly evolving situation where there was a real risk to public safety. In those circumstances, the use of lethal force was necessary, proportionate and reasonable.'
The IOPC examined body-worn footage, CCTV, dashcam footage, radio communications, and witness accounts, including from the officers. It concluded that the officers did not act in a manner that would 'justify disciplinary or criminal proceedings'.
The investigation also considered complaints from Mr Joyce's family regarding searches of addresses linked to him and the handling of property. It found that items were properly seized and recorded, with insufficient evidence to suggest additional property had been taken. However, some officers failed to activate body-worn video when entering properties, which the IOPC said 'should be addressed through reflective learning'.
A pre-inquest review hearing into Mr Joyce's death is scheduled for June 19.
Mr Joyce had previously posted on Facebook about his 'mad dreams' of being shot at as early as 2016. That year he wrote: 'Keep having the same kind of mad dreams over and over, getting shot at, having gun fights, being attacked by creepy weirdos and being in jail. Not to mention getting stabbed and oh yes, my favourite, the poltergeist I always dream of being locked in a house with. Telling you I do wake up full of adrenaline expecting something or someone to be there. This is every night.'
He was jailed in 2022 after being charged with two counts of possession of a firearm, two counts of possession of an offensive weapon, and one count of possession of an article for use in connection with conversion of imitation firearms.
