Crazed killer ‘sorry’ for shooting PC hero dead
A killer wrote a letter of apology after murdering a heroic off-duty policeman during a gun rampage, an inquest heard yesterday.
PC Ian Dibell, a father of two, was hit in the chest at close range as he tried to wrestle a revolver from crazed Peter Reeve. The paranoid gunman later shot himself dead in a churchyard with the First World War weapon.
Just hours after the murder, Reeve scrawled a letter to a friend claiming he shot PC Dibell, 41, by accident.
He wrote to Eric Long: “Saw the paper this morning, so sorry that police officer got shot. That was a complete accident, truly. The gun went off as he was tugging at my car door.”
Reeve, 64, went on a shooting spree in his home town of Clacton-on-Sea, Essex, in July last year, Chelmsford Coroners Court heard. PC Dibell, was alerted by the sound of gunfire.
His partner Louise Lilley, a police community support officer, broke down in tears as coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a verdict of unlawful killing and recommended PC Dibell for a gallantry medal because of his “extraordinary bravery”.