Murders
On 12 August 1966, a Metropolitan Police crew of an unmarked Triumph 2000 Q-car, registration number GGW 87C and call sign Foxtrot One One, was patrolling East Acton (although the incident was always reported by the media as occurring in Shepherd's Bush) in west London. Detective Sergeant Christopher Tippett Head, aged 30, and 25-year-old Temporary Detective Constable David Bertram Wombwell were both members of the Criminal Investigation Department (CID) based at Shepherd's Bush police station in F Division. Their driver was Police Constable Geoffrey Roger Fox, aged 41, a beat constable who had served for many years in F Division (which covered the Metropolitan Borough of Hammersmith) and frequently acted as a Q-car driver due to his vast local knowledge. All three officers were in plain clothes.
At about 3:15 pm the car turned into Braybrook Street, a residential road on the Old Oak Council Estate bordering Wormwood Scrubs and Wormwood Scrubs prison. The officers spotted a battered blue Standard Vanguard estate van parked in the street with three men sitting inside it. Since escapes were sometimes attempted from the prison with the assistance of getaway vehicles driven by accomplices, the officers decided to question the occupants. It is possible that PC Fox recognised the van's driver, Jack Witney, as a known criminal. The vehicle also had no tax disc, legally required for driving in the United Kingdom.
DS Head and DC Wombwell got out of their car and walked over to the van, where they questioned Witney about the lack of a tax disc. He replied that he had not yet obtained his MOT test certificate, which is required before a tax disc can be issued. DS Head asked Witney for his driving licence and vehicle insurance certificate; noticing that the latter had expired at midday, he told DC Wombwell to write down Witney's details and walked around to the other side of the van. Witney protested that he had been caught for the same offence two weeks before and pleaded to be given a break. However, as he did so his front seat passenger, Harry Roberts, produced a Luger pistol and shot DC Wombwell through the left eye, killing him instantly. DS Head ran back towards his Q-car, but Roberts chased and, after missing with the next shot, shot him in the head. John Duddy, the back seat passenger, also got out, grabbing a .38 Webley Service Revolver from the bag next to him (which also contained a third gun). He ran over to the Q-car and shot PC Fox three times through the window as he tried to reverse towards him and Roberts, who also fired several shots. As he died, Fox's foot jerked down on the accelerator and the car lurched forward over the prone body of DS Head, who was already dying of his wounds.
Read more about this topic: Shepherd's Bush Murders
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