No member of our GMP family will
ever forget where they were on the morning of Tuesday 18th September 2012 when
they heard the news that two of our colleagues had been shot in Tameside. We
all hoped in vain that the initial scant details were either inaccurate or
exaggerated and that our colleagues would pull through. However as morning
turned to afternoon our worst fears were realised as we heard the tragic news
that Pcs Nicola Hughes and Fiona Bone had died.
We all remember the emotions we went through, the anger, the frustration, both of which were simply borne out of the fact that that we could not reconcile ourselves with what we were being told had happened - It defied all logic. We all know that policing is a dangerous job, but when colleagues are hurt or killed there is always some perverse reason behind it, however criminal that may be.
This was at the heart of the incredible reaction that we as a policing family saw on the day itself and over the weeks that followed. These events touched people from far and wide in ways that had never seen before and we hope to God we never see again. Messages of support for the family and friends of Nicola and Fiona came in from quite literally around the globe. Hardened criminals handed flowers in at a GMP desk and I particularly remember opening a card from an elderly couple who wanted to send what little amount of money they had spare in order to show support and help those who grieved.
We all remember the emotions we went through, the anger, the frustration, both of which were simply borne out of the fact that that we could not reconcile ourselves with what we were being told had happened - It defied all logic. We all know that policing is a dangerous job, but when colleagues are hurt or killed there is always some perverse reason behind it, however criminal that may be.
This was at the heart of the incredible reaction that we as a policing family saw on the day itself and over the weeks that followed. These events touched people from far and wide in ways that had never seen before and we hope to God we never see again. Messages of support for the family and friends of Nicola and Fiona came in from quite literally around the globe. Hardened criminals handed flowers in at a GMP desk and I particularly remember opening a card from an elderly couple who wanted to send what little amount of money they had spare in order to show support and help those who grieved.
