Raymond Anthony Codling was an

Inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

with

Greater Manchester Police Greater Manchester Police (GMP) is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the metropolitan county of Greater Manchester in North West England. , Greater Manchester Police employed 6,866 police officers, 3,524 memb ...

who was murdered at Birch Services on the

M62 motorway The M62 is a west–east trans-Pennine motorway in Northern England, connecting Liverpool and Hull via Manchester, Bradford, Leeds and Wakefield; of the route is shared with the M60 orbital motorway around Manchester. The road is part of ...

near

Heywood, Greater Manchester Heywood is a town in the Metropolitan Borough of Rochdale, Greater Manchester, England, in the historic county of Lancashire. It had a population of 28,205 at the 2011 Census. The town lies on the south bank of the River Roch, east of Bury, ...

, in 1989.

Timeline

In the early hours of 14 September 1989, Codling, aged 49, in company with

Sergeant Sergeant (abbreviated to Sgt. and capitalized when used as a named person's title) is a rank in many uniformed organizations, principally military and policing forces. The alternative spelling, ''serjeant'', is used in The Rifles and other uni ...

James Bowden, 45, arrived at Birch motorway services between junctions 18 and 19, westbound, on the M62, looking for a white van, the details for which had been circulated by radio. The officers saw a motorcyclist, whom they approached, and he provided them with his details, which later proved to be false. A short time later they saw the man again, acting suspiciously, and the two officers approached him. Bowden noticed that the man had a large knife in his belt and was holding his right hand inside his jacket. Bowden attempted to seize the knife but the man pulled back and drew out a 9 mm

pistol A pistol is a handgun, more specifically one with the chamber integral to its gun barrel, though in common usage the two terms are often used interchangeably. The English word was introduced in , when early handguns were produced in Europe, an ...

. The man fired almost immediately at Bowden, but he escaped injury as the bullet was fired across his body and was deflected by the thick leather cover of his notebook in a breast pocket. The man then shot Codling in the chest; as he lay on the ground injured, a second shot was fired at Codling, killing him. Bowden attempted to give chase but was hit by a gunshot in the leg and was forced to take cover; he later recovered from emergency surgery. The suspect escaped. After a manhunt, the gunman, later identified as Anthony Hughes from

Baguley Baguley ( ) is an electoral ward of the city of Manchester in Wythenshawe, England. The population at the 2011 census was 14,794. Baguley is derived from the Old English words Bagca, badger, and Leah, clearing or meadow. Historically in Cheshi ...

, was traced to a garage in

Kendray Kendray is an area in the S70 postal district of Barnsley, South Yorkshire, England that lies between Sheffield Road and Doncaster Road, both of which lead to and from Barnsley town centre. The area takes its name from Kendray Hospital which ...

, South Yorkshire. When officers entered they found Hughes' body; he had killed himself with the same gun used in the attack on Codling and Bowden. No motive was ever established for the attack, except that Hughes had previously carried out a series of

armed robberies Robbery is the crime of taking or attempting to take anything of value by force, threat of force, or by use of fear. According to common law, robbery is defined as taking the property of another, with the intent to permanently deprive the perso ...

, had served 15 years in prison for a string of violent offences, and had indicated his desire to kill a police officer following an earlier court appearance for a minor offence for which he was fined. In 1991, a memorial to Codling was unveiled at the place of his death by

Michael Winner Robert Michael Winner (30 October 1935 – 21 January 2013) was a British filmmaker, writer, and media personality. He is known for directing numerous Action film, action, Thriller films, thriller, and black comedy films in the 1960s, 1970s and ...

, founder of the

Police Memorial Trust The Police Memorial Trust is a charitable organisation founded in 1984 and based in London. The trust's objective is to erect memorials to British police officers killed in the line of duty, at or near the spot where they died, thereby acting as ...

, and the

Home Secretary The secretary of state for the Home Department, otherwise known as the home secretary, is a senior minister of the Crown in the Government of the United Kingdom. The home secretary leads the Home Office, and is responsible for all national ...

, Kenneth Baker.Greater Manchester Police – Inspector Raymond Anthony Codling at "OFFICERS KILLED IN THE LINE OF DUTY"
/ref> In February 2010, the

Bishop of Manchester The Bishop of Manchester is the ordinary of the Church of England Diocese of Manchester in the Province of York.'' Crockford's Clerical Directory 2008/2009 (100th edition)'', Church House Publishing (). The current bishop is David Walker who ...

, the Right Reverend

Nigel McCulloch Nigel Simeon McCulloch, (born 17 January 1942) is an Anglican bishop. He is a retired Bishop of Manchester in the Church of England. He was appointed in August 2002, taking up duties later that year and was installed in February 2003. He reti ...

, met Codling's widow at a special memorial service at the Birch services."Bishop meets murdered cop’s widow" in Middleton Guardian at menmedia.co.uk
/ref>

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Codling, Raymond Anthony Year of birth uncertain 1989 deaths British police officers killed in the line of duty Deaths by firearm in England Deaths by person in England Male murder victims Murder in Greater Manchester 1980s in Greater Manchester 1989 murders in the United Kingdom 1989 in England September 1989 events in the United Kingdom Murder–suicides in the United Kingdom

Timeline

See also

References