Black Country builder, 20, shot dead by police after he stabbed officer in the face

Sharrinder Singh Garcha, aged 20, died in the Wisconsin shooting after turning on a deputy searching for a girl he had runaway with.

An inquest yesterday in Smethwick concluded that the cause of death was lawful killing. A coroner heard how Garcha had tried to cut the throat of a deputy sheriff with a knife.

But his family, from Walsall, insisted he was a 'gentle giant'. Garcha, who lived with his parents in Bull Street, Darlaston, travelled to America in October.

Hear the frantic 911 call made by a nearby worker after the shooting:

He flew into Tampa International Airport in Florida on October 10 but was immediately refused entry because police believed he was there to meet a young girl under the age of 18.

His passport was confiscated and he was told he would be deported the next day. Garcha, however, failed to collect the passport and it is believed he met up with the 17-year-old girl.

They then left Florida and ran away to Wisconsin. Once there, Garcha came into contact with the police again and said he had information about the runaway girl. Officers realised he was supposed to be deported and that is what is believed to have provoked the stabbing and shooting on November 14.

He had been considered a 'person of interest' by the Department of Homeland Security, according to the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office. During an interview Garcha told sheriff's investigator William Gray that he knew where the runaway was.

Gray then drove Garcha to several locations, including a car park where Gray waited for assistance before checking a residence. As the two waited in Gray's unmarked squad car, Garcha attacked Gray with a knife, stabbing him several times in the face and neck.

In self defence, Chippewa County Deputy Sheriff William Gray pulled a gun from his holster and shot Mr Garcha at point blank range in the head.

When the shooting happened last month, it made national headlines in America as brief details emerged of a police officer being attacked.

Deputy Sheriff Gray was rushed to hospital after the stabbing. He suffered several cuts to his face, neck and hand but has since made a full recovery.

In the aftermath of the incident, further details emerged of exactly what had happened in the American media.

The drama unfolded inside a police car that was parked outside a sign shop in the north central state of Wisconsin. Both Mr Garcha and Deputy Sheriff Gray were inside the vehicle.

See the US news report following the incident here:

Sheriff James Kowalczyk explained his department became involved with a joint investigation with the Department of Homeland Security in Milwaukee.

This investigation involved Mr Garcha, who arrived in the States on October 10.

Mr Garcha was what authorities refer to as a 'person of interest' and was connected to a matter involving a runaway young girl from Florida.

The girl was thought to be in Wisconsin and the Sheriff's department was told Garcha and the girl were at an address in the town of Lafayette.

Deputy Sheriff Gray found Mr Garcha in the town but did not find the girl.

The officer intended to interview Mr Garcha who indicated he could lead him to the runaway girl.

Mr Garcha was interviewed at the Chippewa County Sheriff's Office and after that a number of places were checked to try to find the girl.

Trying to get more information, Deputy Sheriff Gray drove with Mr Garcha into the car park of Blue Ribbon Awards Signs and Engraving in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin. The officer was waiting for another squad to assist him. While in the car park, Mr Garcha is said to have used a knife to stab the officer, injuring him multiple times.

In the struggle, the officer retrieved his handgun and shot and killed Mr Garcha.

The authorities did not say where Mr Garcha got the knife from, or whether he had previously been searched for weapons.

The incident is being investigated by the state of Wisconsin Department of Justice, Division of Criminal Investigation.

Senior coroner Zafar Siddique yesterday concluded it had been a lawful killing in what appeared to be self-defence. Family at Garcha's home in Bull Street said he had been looking for building work in America.

The former pupil at Wood Green School in Wednesbury was described as a 'gentle giant' but relatives declined to comment further.

A Facebook page, called R.I.P. Sharrinder Garcha, has been set up in his memory.

America was rocked by violence at the end of last month after a jury decided not to bring charges over the killing of a black teenager.

The town of Ferguson saw rioting and looting. Michael Brown was shot by a white police officer, Darren Wilson, on August 9, sparking protests.

Many in the African-American community had called for Mr Wilson to be charged with murder, but after three months of deliberation a Missouri grand jury – of nine white and three black members – made no recommendation of charges.

More than 80 people were arrested amid chaos in several areas of St Louis overnight.

Sixty-one of those arrests were in Ferguson, with charges including burglary and trespassing. At the weekend thousands of protesters marched across the US to call attention to the deaths of unarmed black men at the hands of police and urge lawmakers to take action.

Esaw Garner, widow of Eric Garner, 43, who died in July after being put in a chokehold by a New York City police officer during an arrest for allegedly selling loose, untaxed cigarettes, said: "My husband was a quiet man, but he's making a lot of noise right now." Organisers had predicted 5,000 people at the Washington march, but the crowd appeared to far outnumber that.

They later said they believed as many as 25,000 had shown up.