A police marksman who shot dead armed robbery suspect Azelle Rodney was today cleared of his murder.

Experienced firearms officer Anthony Long, 58, fatally shot 24-year-old Rodney when the VW Golf he was travelling in with two other suspected armed robbers was brought to a halt by police in Hale Lane, Edgware.

Long opened fire 0.06 seconds after the car came to a halt and fired off eight rounds - six of which hit Rodney - in just 2.1 seconds.

The car was being followed by police, who believed the three occupants had weapons and were planning to rob a gang of Colombian drug dealers.

As the car came to a standstill, Long fired eight rounds in the direction of Rodney, who was sat on the back seat, the "majority" of which injured him fatally.

Today a jury of seven women and five men found Long not guilty of murder after 12 hours and nine minutes of deliberation.

Long showed no emotion after the verdict was delivered - except to nod curtly towards the jury.

He then turned to the public gallery where he nodded again, while some family members were heard to cry.

Long declined to comment after leaving the court room.

In his defence he told the jury he decided he had to took the the life of a suspect whom he feared had picked up a submachine gun and was going to spray bullets at fellow officers.

He said intelligence, backed up by what surveillance officers saw, left him convinced the gang had at least two fully automatic Mac-10 weapons, capable of firing 1,000 rounds a minute.

"All I had was seconds to make the decision whether I was going to let my colleagues be shot by someone with a submachine gun or whether I was going to take life," Long told the court.

“I chose to take his life. That was the decision I made and I stand by it.”

He told the court his decision to open fire on Mr Rodney was "the most difficult decision I've ever made".

He added: "If I got things wrong because it happened so quickly I apologise but Azelle Rodney did pose a threat."

The decision to apprehend the Rodney and two co-suspects, Wesley Lovell and Frank Graham, was made at around 7.00pm on April 30, 2005, to stop the "imminent" robbery.

Police followed the suspects from a cocaine factory at the Guinness Trust Building in Fulham Palace Road, Hammersmith, to Hale Lane, Edgware, where the car - a silver VW gold hired by Rodney using a false name - was stopped.

Long, who was only previously referred to by his 'E7' call sign, was on duty as a specialist firearms officer (SFO) when his team was ordered to intercept the trio.

A team from the Met's elite SO19 firearms unit executed a 'hard stop' manoeuvre and surrounded the suspects in April 2005.

After just six one hundreths of a second fs the car came to a standstill Long fired eight rounds at Rodney with his semi-automatic Heckler and Koch G36C Carbine - in just 2.1 seconds.

The gap between each shot was around just two-tenths of a second, where Long shot at Rodney through the police car's open window, piercing the rear offside window of the golf.

The first and second rounds missed Rodney, but the third hit him in his right upper arm and shoulder.

As he began to fall Long pulled the trigger again, piercing his back to the right-hand side and travelling through his chest and cutting his kidney.

He was struck in the head by the fifth and six shots as he slumped to the side.

After a pause Rodney was shot twice more in the top of the head, causing devastating brain injuries.

Long, who joined the police in 1975 and had 30 years experience, has since retired from the force.

Max Hill QC, prosecuting, said: The very detailed analysis... will demonstrate that this particular officer, Mr Long, opened fire for some other reason than sheer necessity.

"Whether through misjudgement, panic, or some other reason, Mr Long opened fire and took a life when the circumstances at the moment he pulled the trigger did not justify him in so doing."

Long, whose address was given as the Police Federation Headquarters in Leatherhead, Surrey, denied one count of murder.