A jury has returned an open verdict on the death of a man shot dead by London police even though he was unarmed.
Metropolitan Police officers previously told St Pancras Coroner's Court that they had received reports of an armed "Irishman" in the area.
Mr Harry Stanley, of Warneford Street, Hackney, east London, originally from Glasgow, was carrying a coffee table leg when he killed in September 1999.
Mr Stanley’s family walked out of his inquest in disgust when a Coroner denied the jury the option of a verdict of unlawful killing.
One shouted "Murderers" as Mr Harry Stanley's widow Irene and supporters marched out of the courtroom.
The drama came as Coroner Dr Stephen Chan, summing up told the jury to consider one of two verdicts: lawful killing or an open verdict.
At this point, the family members rose from their feet at the back of St Pancras Coroner's Court in London and left the building.
Father-of-three Mr Stanley, 46, was killed in September 1999 as he walked home from the pub carrying a coffee table leg wrapped in a plastic bag.
Police were called after a fellow drinker told them he was sure it had been a sawn-off shotgun.
Mr Stanley, a painter and decorator, was shot in the head by Inspector Neil Sharman and in the hand by Pc Kevin Fagan.
The inquest heard forensic evidence indicating that Mr Stanley was facing away from the officers at the time he was shot.
But Dr Chan made no mention of the testimony of forensic experts in his summing up.
He told the jurors they should come to their verdict based on what they thought the police officers believed at the time they shot Mr Stanley in Hackney, east London.
PA