Sentencing in firearms safety case
Thames Valley constabulary and one of its firearms instructors are due to be sentenced after the instructor shot and nearly killed a former rifle marksman.
Pc David Micklethwaite, 52, who had failed part of a gun training course, mistakenly loaded a powerful Magnum .44 revolver with a live round from an old Quality Street tin during a weapons awareness tutorial.
He then pulled the trigger while pointing it at a civilian colleague during one of his classroom tutorials.
London's Southwark Crown Court has heard the bullet hit phone operator Keith Tilbury at constabulary headquarters in Kidlington, Oxfordshire, causing devastating injuries.
The 51-year-old, who used to shoot for Britain, underwent five hours of life-saving surgery for an "exploded" bowel and kidney, as well as lung and liver damage.
He was unconscious for 12 days and has never returned to work
Both Micklethwaite and the police force - which faces an unlimited fine - admitted breaching health a safety rules.
