PC Blakelock: Sadness not diminished by 30 years
The 30th anniversary of the death of a police officer brutally attacked by an armed mob has been marked by a private memorial service.
The 30th anniversary of the death of a police officer brutally attacked by an armed mob has been marked by a private memorial service.
PC Keith Blakelock was stabbed 43 times during the Broadwater Farm riots in North London on October 6, 1985. A kitchen knife was still embedded in his neck as he was dragged away from the mob.
Family, friends and police officers attended a service on Tuesday (October 6).
Three men were jailed for the murder in 1987, but released in 1991 after it was proven that police officers had made false witness statements during the trial.
The investigation into PC Blakelocks murder remains open. The MPS had previously offered immunity and money to members of the mob, who in turn agreed to cooperate with the investigation. However, in April 2014 Nicky Jacobs was acquitted of his murder at the Old Bailey.
Chair of the Police Federation of England and Wales Steve White said: PC Blakelock will be remembered for his bravery, trying to protect the firefighters battling flames during the social unrest. The decades will not diminish the sadness of his family, friends and colleagues.
Our thoughts are with those who loved and lost him and we should pay our respects to those officers who also put themselves in harms way to try to save his life.
PC Blakelock along with the rest of his unit was posthumously awarded the Queens Gallantry Medal in 1988.