He joined the dog section as a handler in 1968 and moved to the Force Support Unit in 1975.

The epitaph next to Bishop's memorial stone summarises the circumstances surrounding his death as follows: Brian Bishop, a member of the Essex Police tactical firearms group, was called here to await the return of an armed robber to collect stolen money which he had hidden following post office raids in Walton and Frinton.

A man was convicted of his murder.Five days after the shooting in Central Avenue near Frinton's seafront took place, Bishop died at St. Bartholomew's Hospital in Smithfield, London, on 27 August 1984.

Colin Richards, a 35-year-old man from Brentwood, was arrested at the scene[1] after another of Bishop's colleagues returned fire.

On 19 February 1986, the then Home Secretary, Douglas Hurd, unveiled a brown granite memorial stone adjacent to the seafront site where Bishop was shot.