The wife of Chris Sherwood, the PC who fired the fatal shot, is expecting their first child.

Mr Sherwood is currently abroad and although he has been officially reinstated, he is considering whether or not to stay with Sussex Police.

The son of Laurence Sherwood, former Metropolitan policeman and head of Cambridgeshire Police CID, he is originally from Croydon.

He moved to Sussex and studied at Chelsea College in Eastbourne.

Mr Sherwood, 34, joined Sussex Police in 1991 and was a member of the Special Operations Unit, which is trained to deal with firearms incidents and operations.

A keen sportsman, he was once on the verge of joining the British Olympic cycling team. He studied for a sport science degree at Brighton Polytechnic, now part of Brighton University.

For the past ten years he has been a member of Lewes Rugby Club and played tight-end prop until Christmas when he stepped down to prepare for his case.

Chris Burton was the scene commander during the operation that ended in the death of James Ashley.

Promoted to Chief Inspector in February 1996, he earned a commendation while policing Shoreham harbour during protests over live animal exports.

While still an inspector, Mr Burton, working from police headquarters in Lewes, saved the life of a protester.

The man ran into the path of a truck transporting animals.

Mr Burton, who is 44 and married, risked his life by charging at the man and pushing him out of the lorry's path. Both narrowly escaped injury.

Mr Burton was praised for his dedication to duty and his physical courage by Chief Constable Paul Whitehouse.

Mr Burton, who enjoys studying insects, moved to uniform operations in February 1996 as Chief Inspector, before being promoted to Superintendent.

He was seven days away from taking over as commander of Senlac division when the shooting happened.

Kevin French was a constable in Brighton when he braved rough seas and freezing temperatures in a bid to rescue a man.

He was one of four Brighton officers who took part in the rescue in January 1975, for which they won a bravery testimonial from the Royal Humane Institute.

Mr French, 48 and married, helped search the water close to the West Pier for lost Christopher Wynn, of Brighton. The four formed a human chain and pulled Mr Wynn from the sea but were unable to revive him.

In 1983, golf and gardening enthusiast Mr French, by then a detective sergeant, joined Interpol, taking up a post at New Scotland Yard.

He was the incident commander for the Ashley operation and is said to be eligible for retirement.

Detective Inspector Chris Siggs was the intelligence officer in the case and PC Robert Shoesmith was said to be the intelligence collator, the officer responsible for putting the intelligence package together.