List of British police officers killed in the line of duty explained

This article includes only those serving police officers who were killed as a direct result of a crime or while attempting to respond, prevent, stop or solve a specific criminal act. The list omits war-time deaths by enemy fire, such as the many police officers killed by air raids during the Second World War.^[1] The list also omits the more than 300 officers of the former Royal Ulster Constabulary (RUC) killed in paramilitary assassinations or attacks during The Troubles.^[2]

List

Name	Rank	Age	Force	scope col	Date of death !	Circumstances
		42			Collapsed and died shortly after arresting a violent, drunk suspect[3]
		37			Died three weeks after being assaulted while carrying out an arrest[4]
		33			Accidentally run over while pursuing suspected thieves in Woolwich.[5]
		24			Collapsed and died of heart failure while pursuing suspects[6]
		35			Motorcycle rammed into oncoming traffic by suspect[7]
		22	Metropolitan Police		Killed in the Harrods bombing[8]
		29			Run over by suspect
		28			Stabbed
		24			Shot during the Linwood bank robbery.
		35			Motorcycle accident while on surveillance duty[9]
		40			Shot[10]
		22			Fell through a roof while pursuing suspect[11]
		36			Shot during the Houndsditch murders
		38			Shot while responding to an armed robbery[12]
		37			Shot
		40			Stabbed in the Broadwater Farm riot[13]
		32			Killed in gun and grenade ambush alongside PC Nicola Hughes
		41			Shot in the Hungerford massacre[14]
		34			Shot during the Leeds police shootings
		27	Metropolitan Police		Shot[15]
	PC	36	Thames Valley Police		Struck by suspect vehicle while deploying a stinger in 2013[16]
	Watchman	unknown			Killed whilst attempting to stop a robbery during the Hogmanay riots.[17]
		29	West Midlands Police		Shot while attempting to arrest armed bank robbers[18]
		46			Traffic collision while transporting a prisoner
		48			Shot by Republican terrorists whilst responding to 999 call.
		30	Metropolitan Police		Collapsed while pursuing robbery suspects[19]
		34			Shot during the Houndsditch murders
		27			Killed off duty while trying to arrest car thief.[20]
		49			Shot[21]
		18			Vehicle crashed during police pursuit[22]
		42	Merseyside Police		Killed whilst attempting to stop a stolen vehicle[23]
		42	Leicestershire Police		Shot during a siege in West Knighton, near Leicester. Two others were also shot dead, with the gunman later being imprisoned on charges of manslaughter.[24] [25] [26]
		41			Shot while off duty and confronting an armed man[27]
		24			Killed along with Police Dog Gus when hit by a train whilst pursuing burglary suspects.[28]
		47			Car accident caused by known fault within the N57 engine in the BMW police vehicle he was driving whilst responding to emergency call.[29] [30]
		44	Metropolitan Police		Fatally shot while attending domestic dispute[31]
		25			Shot[32]
		45			Stabbed during the Brink's-Mat robbery.
		34			Beaten and stabbed to death after answering a 999 call.[33]
		41			Shot in the Shepherd's Bush Murders, alongside Christopher Head and David Wombwell
		28			Stabbed[34]
	CEO	40			Killed by an IRA bomb
		37			Shot by IRA member Paul Magee during routine traffic stop[35]
		24			Car accident whilst responding to emergency call.[36]
		43			Shot[37]
		51			Died following a blow to the head with an iron bar during the Epsom riot.
		39			Car accident whilst responding to emergency call.
	PC	21	West Midlands Police		Shot[38]
		31			Shot.
		25			Shot by Barry Prudom
		28	Thames Valley Police		Dragged by vehicle while investigating a burglary report[39]
		30			Shot in the Shepherd's Bush Murders alongside Geoffrey Fox and David Wombwell
		36			Stabbed responding to 999 call[40]
	CEO	49			Killed by an IRA bomb
		23			Killed in gun and grenade ambush alongside PC Fiona Bone
		30			Car accident whilst responding to emergency call.
		38			Accidentally run over while pursuing suspect[41]
		31			Killed investigating an unexploded bomb on aiding duty in Liverpool.[42]
		30			Fatally injured during an arrest[43]
		31			Fatally injured during an arrest[44]
		25			Killed by a Republican terrorist car bomb outside his home.
		29			Shot[45]
		37	London & North Western Railway Police		Fatally injured during an arrest[46]
		41	Metropolitan Police		Stabbed while questioning a male suspected of handling stolen goods[47]
		25	Metropolitan Police		Stabbed[48]
		31			Shot during the Linwood bank robbery
		27			Car accident while responding to emergency call.
		27			Shot while off-duty, attempting to prevent an armed robbery. Posthumously awarded the Queen's Gallantry Medal.[49] [50]
		25			Struck by motor vehicle by suspected drink driver trying to escape.[51]
		19			Beaten[52]
		42	Metropolitan Police		Shot whilst responding to a burglary
		64			Collapsed after an arrest
		26	Metropolitan Police		Stabbed while off-duty attempting to arrest a thief[53]
		37			Rammed by vehicle being pursued. Same incident as PC Bryan Moore.[54]
		39			Rammed by vehicle being pursued. Same incident as PC Andrew Munn.
		40			Shot
		40			Stabbed
		30	Kent Police		While conducting speed checks was intentionally run over by disqualified driver[55] [56]
	PC	48	Metropolitan Police		Stabbed during Westminster terrorist attack
		31			Shot in pursuit of armed robbers.[57]
		54			Shot while a man was being detained in a police custody centre[58] [59]
		18			Vehicle struck during police pursuit. She was the first British woman police officer to be killed in service.[60]
		27			Killed when a stolen car hit her police car.
		38			Shot
		39			Stabbed during post office robbery.[61] [62]
		46			Fatally injured after being struck by a train trying to reach a distressed man on the track.
		44	Devon and Cornwall Police		Shot after high speed pursuit[63]
		29			PC Snipe was attempting an arrest at the Star Public House in Hockley, when a mob turned upon him and his colleague PC Mead. They attempted to find shelter in the local church, but a brick thrown at them hit him on the head, with his dying in hospital 4 hours later.
		35			Collapsed attending a violent street affray[64]
		39	West Yorkshire Police		Shot while going to aid of a colleague who had been fired on near Leeds Parish Church[65]
		44			Stabbed
	Inspector	30			Shot while responding to a burglary[66]
		26			Pushed from roof while arresting burglars.[67]
		38			Shot[68]
		21	Metropolitan Police		Shot while assisting colleague when off-duty[69]
		37	Metropolitan Police		Thrown from police vehicle during pursuit
		46			Shot during the Houndsditch murders
		31			Shot during the Tottenham Outrage
		42			Run over
		44			Shot
		28	Metropolitan Police		Shot
		31			Shot by Barry Prudom[70]
		25			Shot during the Shepherd's Bush Murders alongside Geoffrey Fox and Christopher Head
		33			Shot after challenging poacher off-duty.[71]
		38			Run over[72]
		34			Run over whilst attempting to deploy a Stop Stick device in a pursuit [73] [74] [75]
Thomas Bishop	PC	39	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Fatally bludgeoned with stones by a drunken man he had warned. The incident occurred in Bere Regis following the Woodbury Hill Fair.[76]
Sidney George Wood	PC	27	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Died after crashing his bicycle on a steep hill searching for a thief
Thomas Biddlecombe	PC	47	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Whilst patrolling Thornford Road, Sherborne, he took severely ill and was taken by ambulance to Yeatman Hospital where he died.
Wilfred Charles Viney	PC	31	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Killed riding pillion in a motorcycle collision on plain clothes night patrol.
Sidney F. Loader	PC	40	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Fatally injured in a collision with a car while on cycle patrol.
Alfred E. Head	PC	46	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Fatally injured in a road collision cycling to court in bad weather.
Stanley Ivor Marsh	PC	24	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Died as a result of injuries received in 1938 when he attempted to stop a car.
Walter Charles Billett	WRC	61	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Killed in a fall from his bicycle while reporting for duty in the blackout.
Cecil Robert Budden	PC	27	Dorset Constabulary (now Dorset Police)		Fatally injured in a collision with a car while on motorcycle patrol.
Kenneth Frederick Innell	Inspector	44	Dorset Police		Collapsed and died during an incident on duty at Poole Quay.
Sean Oxford	SPC	21	Dorset Police		Collapsed and died during warm up exercises in preparation for self defence training.
Stephen Wilson	PC	37	Dorset Police		Fatally injured in a motorcycle collision while reporting for night duty.
Ian Leslie Toomer	Inspector	50	Dorset Police		Killed in a road collision when his police car crashed in wet weather.
Ian James Morton	DC	32	Dorset Police		Killed in a road traffic collision whilst travelling to report for duty at Bournemouth, in the early morning, when his vehicle left the road and crashed into the wall of a bungalow at Highcliffe.
Jonathan Mark Hicken	DC	47	Dorset Police		Collapsed and died while travelling to duty.
Kulwant Sidhu	PC	24	Metropolitan Police		Died after plunging through a glass panel on the roof of an industrial building while chasing two suspected burglars.[77]

Key to rank abbreviations:

• A/x = Acting
• ACC = Assistant Chief Constable
• CEO = Civilian Explosives Officer
• Cmdr = Commander
• DC = Detective Constable
• DI = Detective Inspector
• DS = Detective Sergeant
• Insp = Inspector
• PC = Police Constable
• Sgt = Sergeant
• SPC = Special Police Constable
• Stn Sgt = Station Sergeant
• Supt = Superintendent
• WPC = Woman Police Constable
• WRC = War Reserve Constable.

See also

• List of killings by law enforcement officers in the United Kingdom
• List of American police officers killed in the line of duty
• List of Irish police officers killed in the line of duty
• Police Roll of Honour Trust
• National Police Memorial (London)

External links

• Police Roll of Honour Trust
• United Kingdom Police Force Rolls of Honour
• National Police Memorial at the National Memorial Arboretum

Notes and References

1. Web site: Roll of Honour. Policememorial.org.uk . 1 April 2015.
2. Web site: Royal Ulster Constabulary. Royalulsterconstabulary.org. 25 July 2021.
3. Web site: Widow of Yorkshire police officer who died after attack speaks of heartache. Leeson. Lucy. 25 July 2019. Yorkshire Post. National World Publishing Ltd.. 20 January 2024.
4. Web site: Metropolitan Police Since 1946. National Police Officers Roll of Honour. 20 January 2024.
5. Policeman hurt by car dies. 13 February 1967. 1. 56864.
6. Web site: Lest we Forget – PC Ronald Addison. Metropolitan Police Federation . 28 October 2020.
7. News: Bunyan . Nigel . Driver of stolen car 'shunted Pc to his death under lorry' . 30 May 2018 . The Telegraph . 26 June 2000.
8. Web site: Lest we Forget – WPC Jane Philippa Arbuthnot, Sgt Noel Joseph Lane, Insp Stephen John Dodd. Metropolitan Police Federation. 28 October 2020.
9. Web site: UK Police Memorial Dedication Ceremony . Suffolk Constabulary . 28 July 2021 . 28 July 2021.
10. Crime in Northumberland – Two Policeman and a Woman Killed . 16 April 1913. 13. 40187.
11. Web site: Lest we Forget – PC Douglas Frederick Beckerson. Metropolitan Police Federation. 28 October 2020.
12. News: The officers killed on duty . 30 May 2018 . BBC News . 19 September 2012.
13. News: PC Keith Blakelock: man charged with murder at Broadwater Farm riots. Vikram. Dodd. 24 July 2013. The Guardian.
14. Web site: Looking back at the Hungerford massacre 33 years on. Hugh. Fort. 19 August 2020. BerkshireLive.
15. Web site: Memorial service for Hackney policeman shot dead 20 years ago. September 2010.
16. News: PC death driver jailed for manslaughter. 31 January 2018. 3 September 2019.
17. Web site: Police Watchman Dugald Campbell . Scottish Police Memorial Trust.
18. Web site: PC Gavin Carlton . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
19. News: Metropolitan Police detective Adele Cashman dies chasing suspect. BBC News. 6 November 2012.
20. Web site: PC Duncan Clift.
21. Web site: Day a police officer was gunned down in cold blood at Birch Services on the M62. Neal. Keeling. 16 September 2019. Manchester Evening News.
22. Web site: The police who have fallen while protecting us; It's the 100th anniversary of the deaths of two North East police officers who were shot whilst on duty – a thankfully rare crime. However not rare enough, as the recent National Police Memorial Day for officers who have lost their lives over the years while protecting the public revealed. Including a number from this region. Mike Kelly reports. – Free Online Library. www.thefreelibrary.com.
23. News: Daughter's moving tribute to dad killed in the line of duty. Ellen. Kirwin. 3 July 2021. Liverpool Echo. 27 July 2023.
24. News: Man charged after 3 die in gun incident . The Times . 59491 . 3 September 1975 . 2. 0140-0460.
25. Web site: ATV Today: 02.09.1975: Shotgun Siege in Leicester – three killed . macearchive.org . 23 June 2017 . 27 June 2023.
26. Web site: Sabi NIKOLOFF: murder of Enid Daisy CABANUIK, Brian DAWSON and Terence Neil WILKINSON on . discovery.nationalarchives.gov.uk . 27 June 2023.
27. Web site: Civilian Gallantry List: 2013 – GOV.UK. Gov.uk. 21 November 2017.
28. Web site: Metropolitan ROH . 27 October 2018 .
29. Web site: Cohen . Robert . Nicholas Dumphreys: Prevention of future deaths report . Courts and Tribunal Judiciary . 19 January 2023 . 6 April 2023.
30. News: Nick Dumphreys: M6 crash police car had known engine fault . 6 April 2023 . 20 December 2022 . BBC North East & Cumbria.
31. Web site: PC Patrick Dunne. The Police Memorial Trust. 26 March 2023.
32. News: The 35-year-old vow to a dying police officer. Claire. Jones. BBC News. 11 November 2019.
33. Web site: Sergeant William Forth . The Police Memorial Trust . 17 March 2022.
34. Policeman died after stabbing. 18 June 1994. 8. 64984.
35. News: Service for murdered constable . 8 June 2018 . BBC News . 14 June 2012.
36. News: 16 PSNI officers have died in the line of duty since force was formed. Belfast Telegraph.
37. News: Taylor. Matthew. Wainwright. Martin. 7 May 2007. Police officer shot dead and gunman kills himself after domestic row gets out of control. The Guardian. 25 June 2020. 0261-3077.
38. News: Bridge . Bobby . 22 July 2022 . Coventry police officer remembered 50 years on from fatal shooting . 16 June 2023.
39. News: Man, 20, charged with the murder of PC Andrew Harper. Rawlinson. Kevin. 19 August 2019. The Guardian. 19 August 2019. 0261-3077.
40. News: Tributes to Pc killed in stabbing . BBC News . 12 June 2007 . 2012-08-20.
41. Policeman died chasing burglar . 4 August 2004 . 4 . 67832 .
42. News: Eighteen Merseyside police officers were killed between May 3 and 9 during 1941 Liverpool Blitz. 4 May 2011.
43. Web site: In Memoriam. Metropolitan Police Federation. 25 September 2020.
44. Web site: Memorial service remembers Trowbridge PC killed 30 years ago. 29 September 2009 .
45. News: Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 19 July 1900. 11. The Swinton Tragedy – Prisoners Before the Bench.
46. Web site: 5 July 2017 . Archives unearth horrific murder . Wigan Post.
47. Web site: Sergeant Alan King . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
48. Web site: Man admits manslaughter of WPC . BBC News . 22 October 1998 . 3 October 2020.
49. Web site: 16 November 1989 . The London Gazette, Supplement 51938 . thegazette.co.uk . 13299.
50. Web site: Francis John Mason . policememorial.org.uk.
51. Web site: PC Ronan McCloskey . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
52. Web site: Our heroes-PC Christopher McDonald. Nottinghamshire Police. Nottinghamshire Police and Crime Commissioner.
53. Web site: 13 December 2021 . Murder of DC Jim Morrison: 30th Anniversary appeal . https://web.archive.org/web/20211213083013/https://news.met.police.uk/news/murder-of-dc-jim-morrison-30th-anniversary-appeal-439272 . 13 December 2021 . news.met.police.uk.
54. News: Death crash driver 'rammed police car'. Staff and. agencies. 2 May 2003. The Guardian.
55. Web site: PC Jon Odell . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
56. News: 12 June 2001 . Driver jailed for killing traffic PC . BBC News.
57. Web site: DC Jim Porter . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
58. News: Officer shot dead at police station . BBC News . 25 September 2020 . 25 September 2020.
59. News: Croydon police officer shot dead named as Sgt Matt Ratana. BBC News. 25 September 2020. 25 September 2020.
60. News: Mandy Rayner: Family marks 30 years since police officer was killed . BBC News . 17 October 2012 . 17 March 2022.
61. News: Service for stabbed police officer. 9 February 2014. BBC News .
62. Web site: Derek John Carnie Robertson. Police Roll of Honour Trust .
63. Web site: PC Dennis Arthur Smith QPM . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
64. Policeman dies after Brawl. 29 January 1962 . 6 . 55301 .
65. Web site: Sergeant John Speed . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
66. News: Farsley killer told police 'a dead witness cannot talk' after 1970s double murder. 15 February 2020. The Yorkshire Evening Post.
67. Web site: PC John Taylor . thepolicememorialtrust.org.
68. Web site: The Tragic Shooting of ACC Robert Chisholm Thomson MBE in 1940 . Scottish Police Medals . 17 March 2022.
69. Policeman dies after shooting in street . 27 February 1975. 1 . 59331 .
70. News: Killer on run leaves trail of death . 8 June 2018 . The Yorkshire Post . 14 June 2004.
71. Web site: Ian Wain Woodward. Police Remembrance Trust.
72. News in Brief . 21 June 1934 . 11 . 46786 .
73. Web site: PC David Phillips . 2024-02-09 . The Police Memorial Trust . en-GB.
74. Web site: David Andrew Victor Phillips . 2024-02-09 . David Andrew Victor Phillips . en-GB.
75. News: Press Association . 2016-03-08 . Teenager gave PC Dave Phillips no chance as he ran him over, court told . 2024-02-09 . The Guardian . en-GB . 0261-3077.
76. Bere Regis Murders . Bere Regis village website history section. 2004. Retrieved 21 February 2016.
77. Web site: 2000-05-19 . Dying Pc Radioed For Help After Fall . 2024-06-13 . Richmond and Twickenham Times . en.