Police Constable A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...

Joseph Grantham (died 1830) was the first

police officer A police officer (also called a policeman and, less commonly, a policewoman) is a warranted law employee of a police force. In most countries, "police officer" is a generic term not specifying a particular rank. In some, the use of the ...

to be killed whilst on duty in the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the European mainland, continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotlan ...

. Joseph Grantham was a

in the Metropolitan Police Service which had been formally established in 1829. While on duty on 28 June 1830, he intervened in a fight between two drunks in

Somers Town, London Somers Town is an inner-city district in North West London. It has been strongly influenced by the three mainline north London railway termini: Euston (1838), St Pancras (1868) and King's Cross (1852), together with the Midland Railway Some ...

, during the altercation Grantham was beaten to death. At his inquest, the jury returned a verdict of "justifiable homicide", possibly due to dislike of the new police force. Grantham was held to have contributed to his own death by "over-exertion in the discharge of his duty".Early timeline of the Metropolitan Police

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1830 deaths Metropolitan Police officers People murdered in London Deaths by beating in the United Kingdom Year of birth missing {{UK-law-bio-stub