Murder of Raja Ahmed
Raja Ahmed | |
---|---|
Born | 26 June 1964[1] Manchester, England |
Died | 31 August 1999 Miles Platting, Manchester, England | (aged 35)
Police career | |
Department | Greater Manchester Police |
Service years | 1991-1999 |
Rank | Police Constable |
Ahmed was the first GMP officer to be murdered on duty since Inspector Raymond Codling was shot at a motorway service area in 1989. Local man Steven Draper was convicted in 2000 of Ahmed's murder and sentenced to life imprisonment.
Background
Ahmed was a part-time
Murder
On 31 August 1999, Ahmed was on motorcycle patrol in Miles Platting, in central Manchester, when he saw a suspected stolen Vauxhall Nova. Also in the stolen car were the driver's 27-year-old girlfriend, Sandra Reynolds, and her two daughters. Upon seeing Ahmed, the attacker reversed suddenly, forcing the officer to manoeuvre his BMW motorcycle between two cars.
The suspect then drove at Ahmed's motorcycle, ramming him 82 feet (25 m) forward into the busy road junction; Ahmed was struck by an articulated lorry. He was taken to hospital by ambulance but he died from his injuries.[3]
Conviction
The driver of the stolen car, 28-year-old Steven Draper of
He had appeared before the courts on 24 different occasions previously, including once after he attacked a police officer with a screwdriver.Draper denied murdering Ahmed but pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of
Memorial
A monument commissioned by the Police Memorial Trust was built at the junction of Oldham Road and Queens Road in Miles Platting near the spot where Ahmed was killed.[5] To commemorate the twentieth anniversary of the incident, on 31 August 2019 a new road near the murder in Miles Platting was named Raja Ahmed Street to honour the killed officer.[6]
See also
References
- ^ England & Wales, Civil Registration Death Index, 1916-2007.
- ^ a b Nigel Bunyan (1 July 2000). "Life for thief who killed motorcycle Pc". Telegraph.co.uk.
- ^ "Our Officers killed in the line of duty" Archived 26 July 2011 at the Wayback Machine. Greater Manchester Police.
- ^ "Life for policeman's murder". BBC News. 30 June 2000.
- ^ "National Police Officers Roll of Honour".
- ^ Sophie Halle-Richards (30 August 2019). "PC Raja Ahmed was killed in the line of duty as he tried to stop a stolen car - now a Manchester road will be renamed in his memory". manchestereveningnews.co.uk.