PW_2_2021

IPA News

An Audience with The Chief Neil Hallam , Editor

Andy Cooke QPM

The pandemic has prompted many innovative ways for IPA members to get the most from their membership. Drawing on a friendship forged at the Bruche Police Training Centre at Warrington in 1985, Brendan O’Brien convinced Merseyside Chief Constable Andy Cooke, to spend an hour answering our questions over Zoom. Brendan posed a great many questions during the hour long session, both his own and those asked through Zoom’s chat facility. The few below were the ones that most impacted on me. Andy spent his first 10 years as a Constable, before rising rapidly through the ranks. When asked about fast track promotion, Andy replied that the right route is different for everyone. He does not like to see officers motivated by promotion for its own sake, rather that an officer should do what gives them most fulfilment. Asked about the effect of increasingly high tech crime on policing, Andy agreed that forces needed an influx of tech savvy officers. However, he was clear that we would still need the neighbourhood officers with strong people skills, as well as those with confidence to deal with Friday night pub fights.

When asked about his proudest moments in 36 years of policing, he gave both a professional and a personal example. Professionally, Andy took pride in a Councillor pointing out that families now felt safe to use a park in Toxteth. Personally, he enjoyed the pride instilled in his parents when he collected his Queen’s Police Medal from Queen Elizabeth. CC Cooke is soon to retire, moving into an Inspector’s role with HMRC-FRS. It will be nice to see his down to earth, common sense approach within the Inspectorate.

Yvonne Fletcher: a personal campaign for justice John Murray

Yvonne died a few hours later in the operating theatre, she had been shot and had massive internal injuries. A few weeks later I carried her coffin at the service in Salisbury Cathedral. That was when my campaign began towards seeking justice for Yvonne. It has been a long hard struggle; mentally, emotionally and financially, but after 37 years I finally have a suspect who I am taking a civil action against in the High Court in London. Many years after Yvonne’s death, a suspect was arrested. However, The Crown Prosecution Service decided in 2017, that there was insufficient evidence to proceed with criminal charges. Remembering my promise to Yvonne, I set about gathering new evidence, which led to the civil action scheduled for October this year. For many years I was self-funded, but as the cost of litigation increased, I have been helped with donations from serving and retired officers. Over £40,000 has been raised to date, and more will be needed to fully fund the High Court action. I can be contacted on my email jonno1955@aol.com should anyone wish further information or has any questions.

It was a bright sunny morning when WPC Yvonne Fletcher and I reported for duty at Bow Street Police Station. We had been working together for a few years as Community Officers, looking after the residents and businesses in the Covent Garden area and got on well. We had just begun our 8am to 4pm shift on 17th April 1984 and set out to do some community visits. Half an hour into our shift, the duty sergeant asked us if we could be available for a demonstration that morning in St James’ Square, covering for two officers who had to attend court. Of course, Yvonne and I readily agreed, as you do not upset the duty sergeant. So, at 9am we were in the police van en-route to the demonstration. We joined the officers who were already there from other police stations, and were placed at the front of the Libyan Peoples Bureau (Libyan Embassy), to await the demonstrators. A few minutes later the protestors began to arrive and settled in behind the metal crowd barriers. They were all very vocal, shouting Anti-Gaddaffi slogans. Yvonne and I started to talk to those in front of us, to gauge their mood, and identify any potential troublemakers, changing places several times as we did this. I was standing about two metres from Yvonne, who was the only policewoman outside the Bureau. Suddenly there was a loud bang, I thought someone had thrown a firework and Yvonne fell onto the road. I was aware of shouting and screaming, then suddenly silence. Along with two other officers, I rushed to Yvonne and cradled her head. She was conscious, but not alert and I had not yet realised that she had been shot. We waited for a few minutes, which seemed like hours, and then carried her into a side street. Yvonne was moaning and delirious all the time. Once an ambulance arrived, we put Yvonne inside and I travelled with her. There were also Libyan students who had been shot in the ambulance with us and blood was flowing freely. On the way to hospital I promised Yvonne I would find out what had happened and by whom and why. Those were the last words she heard.

Yvonne Fletcher shortly after being shot

18

POLICE WORLD Vol 66 No.2, 2021