PC Phillip John Walters was a police officer in London's
Metropolitan Police Service who was shot dead while investigating a domestic disturbance in
Ilford, Essex, on 18 April 1995.
Background
Born in Royston, Hertfordshire.
After working as an air steward, Walters joined the Metropolitan Police Service in September 1993 and was posted to
Ilford in February 1994.
Death
On 18 April 1995, Walters responded to reports of a domestic disturbance at a flat in Empress Avenue,
Ilford, with his colleague Police Constable Derek Shepherd, whom he had partnered in the job for the eighteen months since he entered service. Upon arrival, the pair discovered three men beating the male occupant of the property; it later transpired that they had been hired to beat the man who was the former boyfriend of a woman. As the suspects attempted to escape, one produced a
Smith & Wesson
Smith & Wesson Brands, Inc. (S&W) is an American firearm manufacturer headquartered in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States.
Smith & Wesson was founded by Horace Smith and Daniel B. Wesson as the "Smith & Wesson Revolver Company" in 1856 ...
handgun and shot Walters in the chest as he was tackled by the officer. The bullet penetrated Walters' heart and he died later in hospital. A second shot grazed Shepherd's shoulder. Shepherd only managed to save himself by jamming his finger in front of the gun's hammer.
Aftermath
A 28-year-old man, thought to be a
Jamaica
Jamaica (; ) is an island country situated in the Caribbean Sea. Spanning in area, it is the third-largest island of the Greater Antilles and the Caribbean (after Cuba and Hispaniola). Jamaica lies about south of Cuba, and west of His ...
n
illegal immigrant and named only as 'Ray Lee' (one of three aliases he used on his fake passports) was convicted of Walters'
manslaughter at the
Old Bailey in a second trial in June 1996 (an original trial collapsed when the jury became irrevocably split). Judge Ann Goddard sentenced 'Lee' to ten years imprisonment for the manslaughter of Walters (the maximum sentence which could have been imposed is 25 years) and an additional eight years for firearms offences, robbery and
grievous bodily harm in the incident which led the officers to the Ilford flat. In a separate trial, the two other men who escaped the scene, and a woman, were convicted of lesser charges.
Walters' colleague Derek Shepherd returned to service ten months after the shooting, having suffered from stress, contributing to the breakdown of his marriage.
[ Walters' girlfriend of four years at the time of his death emigrated to the United States and later married.
In 1997, 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 ...
erected a stone memorial dedicated to Walters near the place of his death in Empress Avenue, Ilford.
'Ray Lee' was released in 2007 having served 12 years of his 18-year sentence. He was reported to have been deported
Deportation is the expulsion of a person or group of people from a place or country. The term ''expulsion'' is often used as a synonym for deportation, though expulsion is more often used in the context of international law, while deportation ...
to Jamaica.
See also
*List of British police officers killed in the line of duty
Thousands of police officers in Britain are believed to have died during the course of their duties, but this article includes only those who were killed as a direct result of a crime or while attempting to respond, prevent, stop or solve a spe ...
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Walters, Phillip, Death Of
1995 crimes in the United Kingdom
1995 deaths
1995 in London
April 1995 events in the United Kingdom
Metropolitan Police officers
Metropolitan Police officers killed in the line of duty
1990s murders in London
Deaths by person in London
Deaths by firearm in London
Ilford
History of the London Borough of Redbridge