The West Yorkshire Police officer who shot and killed Yassar Yaqub has told how he watched him pull out a handgun, and said he had "no alternative" but to shoot.
The operational firearms commander - who has been given the code name V39 - was part of a fleet of vehicles that carried out an enforced stop on a white Audi and white VW Scirocco at junction 24, Ainley Top on January 2, 2017. An inquest looking into Yassar's death has heard the stop came after intelligence received in Operation Fillview - an operation set up in October 2016 with the aim of minimising Yassar's risk to two men, including Khalil Sidat.
A jury sitting at Leeds Crown Court has so far heard how a surveillance team followed the Audi and Scirocco to Akbar's Cafe in Leeds Road, Bradford, where it was understood a criminal meeting would take place between Yassar and a number of others, including Mohsin Amin and Mohammed 'Meggy' Khan. Officers have told how intelligence suggested one or more persons at the meeting would be in possession of a firearm.
Read more: Inquest week 3 as officer who shot Yassar Yaqub gives evidence - Wednesday updates
On Wednesday, the court heard that following the meeting "state amber" was issued and V39 moved the four police vehicles - known as Alpha, Bravo, Charlie and Delta - into a location where they would be waiting to follow the Audi and Scirocco. He said state amber meant that "state amber" meant that they would "perform a covert enforced stop of the Audi and VW Scirocco."
V39 said: "As they entered the motorway, my assumption was they were taking the return route." He said if the Audi and Scirocco had not come off the motorway at junction 34 he "would have passed the surveillance back to the surveillance team."
The court heard that an opportunity to carry out an enforced stop presented and over the hand-held radio, V39 told the team: "We're state red, state red, looking for an opportunity" and "strike, strike, strike" as it was carried out.
V39 told Tom Little KC that as the vehicles came to a rest, he "positioned" and "twisted" himself out of the window onto the bonnet of the Audi and illuminated the subjects and "challenged the occupants of the vehicles." He said when sat facing forward, his body would be in a 12 o'clock position, but after twisting and pointing the firearm at the Audi he was in an 8 o'clock position.
The officer said the driver - now known to be Amin - "immediately put his hands in the air" but the passenger - now known to be Yassar Yaqub - did not. He said: "Mr Yaqub leant down towards the footwell and I would describe it as crouching towards the driver...I repeated my challenges, 'armed police, show me your hands...He briefly looked up and looked back down. I again repeated the challenge."
V39 told the court that by this point, the firearm was pointed at Yassar Yaqub and not Amin and his vision was "obscured" because of the dashboard. He added that he could see the tops of his [Yassar's] arms and shoulders but was "wanting to see his hands because of the intelligence" he had.
He said: "All of a sudden I see his hands moving while he remains slightly crouched and I immediately see the handgun in his hands." He added that it was on the last challenge that he saw the passenger's hands. The court heard: "It was highly unusual for the occupant not to be compliant with instructions. My focus was entirely on the firearm as it came up onto the dashboard...
"It was a handgun. His hands came up over the dashboard - I could see they weren't together but they were close. I knew they weren't together because I then saw the pistol grip of the handgun as it started to level its way up to my vicinity."
V39 says he then "discharged my firearm fearing for my life and my colleagues who I know would be approaching the vehicle to Mr Yaqub."
He said he did not consider any realistic alternative "because I would have been shot."
The officer said the whole incident was "over in ten seconds."
Yassar's family became tearful at their remote location as V39 told how he looked into the Audi following the shooting. He said: "I had just gone through a life-changing scenario, I had just had a firearm pointed at me and I wanted to see the firearm held by Mr Yaqub. I saw a firearm in the footwell."
Jurors were shown images of the scene and inside the Audi, which showed the handle of a firearm sticking out from under a seat among pieces of shattered glass. They also heard the audio from the radio channel where V39 told officers of the state red and his instructions.
Mr Little asked V39: With the benefit of hindsight is there anything you could have done differently to avoid shooting Yassar Yaqub?"
He answered: "No, sir."
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