Pearse Jordan

Sergeant A stated that the officers believed Jordan was transporting weapons for the Provisional Irish Republican Army. Sergeant A also stated that his team signalled to Jordan several times for him to pull over, but that Jordan accelerated instead, reaching 60–70 mph. They pursued him and nudged his car to a halt. Their siren was on throughout the chase. Jordan had left his car and was running away. In the meantime a second crew arrived on the scene. Sergeant A gave Jordan a warning shout, ordering him to stop. The other police officers were shouting as well. Jordan turned towards the sergeant in an aggressive manner. His arms were down and his hands out of sight; the sergeant's vision was obscured either by his own car or the other crew's. He feared Jordan was armed and posing a threat to the sergeant's life. He was certain there were no viable alternatives, and fired at Jordan, who fell over. According to the members of the other crew, as they arrived on the scene and were stopping their car, Jordan either ran into them or their car struck him, bumping him.

The circumstances of Jordan's death are recounted in the Irish rebel/Republican song 'Pearse Jordan' written & recorded by The Irish Brigade. The recurring phrase "Slán go fóill mo chara" – the song is otherwise in English – in Irish means "Goodbye, my friend/comrade".

In May 2001, Jordan's case was heard by the European Court of Human Rights along with three similar cases. The Court agreed that Jordan's death was in violation of Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, a section of which reads: "Everyone's right to life shall be protected by law. No one shall be deprived of his life intentionally save in the execution of a sentence of a court following his conviction of a crime for which this penalty is provided by law."

The circumstances surrounding Jordan's death are disputed. It is undisputed that in the afternoon of 25 November 1992, at between 3 and 6pm, Jordan was driving a car in Belfast. While on Falls Road his car was forcefully rammed by an unmarked police car. The car was disguised, but all of the occupants were in full Police uniforms. Jordan then abandoned his car, and was subsequently shot three times from behind by Sergeant A, an unnamed member of a Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) Headquarters Mobile Support Unit.

Pearse Jordan (12 December 1969 – 25 November 1992) was a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) volunteer killed by a Royal Ulster Constabulary officer. In 2001 the European Court of Human Rights ordered the British Government to pay fines to the families of several IRA men, including Jordan's, after holding that the men's human rights were violated by flawed inquest procedures. Following this judgement, British law regarding inquests was changed.