50 years on we remember the bravery of PC David Green

A fitting tribute was paid yesterday, Thursday 17 July at Police HQ, to mark 50 years of the tragic death of brave young officer, PC David Green.

David was a dedicated police cadet who joined Birmingham City Police as a regular officer on his 19th birthday, on 28th January 1974.

Six months later, whilst out on patrol in the city, David spotted a 16-year-old boy carrying a knife outside The Rainbow Club dance hall. Quick to act, David apprehended the boy and attempted to bring him into custody.

Whilst travelling on foot to the station the young officer soon found himself surrounded by a gang of youths who wrestled with him in an attempt to set the prisoner free. In the struggle to keep a tight hold of the boy, David was stabbed, in the heart, by 20-year-old Demond Wilson.

The youths fled the scene, and despite PC Green’s fatal injuries he managed to call back to the station before collapsing to the ground.

A large police search followed which led to the discovery of the murder weapon, laying in shrubbery near to Rackham’s department store. Wilson was later arrested and eventually sentenced to life imprisonment.

Members of David’s family were joined by representatives from the West Midlands Police Federation, West Midlands

Photo courtesy of West Midlands Police Museum

NARPO, the Police Museum, Steve Newbury from the Benevolent Fund and the Honour Guard to remember the brave fallen officer.

The tribute was led by Reverend Matthew Hopley, the National Police Chaplain for UK Policing.

Read more about the incredible bravery of the young officer on the West Midlands Police Museum website here: https://bit.ly/4lCKZ4U