Man shot dead by police was convicted stalker under restraining order

A man shot dead by police after breaking into a home armed with weapons including a crossbow was a convicted stalker who was banned from entering the road where he was shot.

Court documents show that Bryce Hodgson was handed a 16-week suspended jail term in July last year and put under supervision for 12 months after admitting stalking.

The 30-year-old was convicted of a charge of stalking involving serious alarm or distress for entering a woman’s bedroom without her consent, texting her to demand she open her door, and describing vivid sexual fantasies to her, between January and April last year.

Hodgson was also put under a five-year restraining order that banned him from entering Bywater Place in Surrey Quays, south-east London, where he was shot on Tuesday, and from contacting the woman.

He died after forcing his way into a home in the road just before 5am on Tuesday, wearing body armour and threatening to harm those inside.

Weapons including crossbows, a knife, a sword and a hatchet were found at the scene.

Justice officials have been looking into the case to establish whether Hodgson was under the supervision by probation officers at the time of the incident.

The supervision element of Hodgson’s sentence, as set out in the court documents, relates to his requirement to carry out 120 hours of unpaid work. His only contact with the Probation Service was to facilitate carrying out that work.

Hodgson completed his work in October without issue, and his involvement with probation ended at that time as a result.

He was not supervised by probation officers and did not attend appointments with them at any point as this was not a requirement imposed by the court, the PA news agency understands.

According to the Daily Mirror, neighbours described Hodgson as “a dark horse” who appeared to be nervy.

Watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is investigating the shooting, which is standard when there is a police fatality.

IPOC regional director Mel Palmer said: “Given a man has died after being shot by police, our role is to independently investigate all of the circumstances surrounding this incident including the actions and decisions taken by the police.

“We appreciate that the community will want answers quickly and our investigators are working hard to establish the facts and piece together what occurred.”

Metropolitan Police Assistant Commissioner Matt Twist, who has overall responsibility for firearms, said he “firmly” believes police actions “prevented further loss of life”.

He added: “The first unarmed officers knew they were arriving on scene to reports of a man armed with weapons and threatening to harm people inside an address.

“The officers knew there were people inside and had genuine fears for their safety.

“Armed officers were called and attempted to get the man to surrender. They entered the property and shots were fired.

“I would like to pay tribute to the bravery of all our officers who responded and thank all the emergency service staff involved.”