PC Sharon Beshenivsky (née Jagger; 14 January 1967 – 18 November 2005)[3] was a West Yorkshire Police constable shot and killed by a criminal gang during a robbery in Bradford on 18 November 2005, becoming the seventh female police officer in Great Britain to be killed on duty.
Closed-circuit television cameras tracked a car rushing from the scene and used an automatic number plate recognition system to trace its owners.
[6] On the afternoon of 18 November 2005, Beshenivsky and Milburn responded to reports that an attack alarm had been activated at a travel agent on Morley Street in Bradford.
The use of recently installed automatic number plate recognition technology in Bradford city centre played a vital role in identifying the suspects prior to their arrest.
[13] On 1 November 2007, Mustaf Jama was extradited from Somalia, after a Home Office funded snatch operation that involved his Land Rover being ambushed by 15 local militiamen and then Jama being flown by private plane to the UK via Dubai,[14] and taken into police custody at Bridewell police station in Leeds.
[17] It later transpired that he had been released from prison (having been convicted of burglary and robbery offences) just six months before Beshenivsky's murder and that he had been considered for deportation to his native Somalia.
Detective Superintendent Simon Atkinson said: "This investigation is not yet complete and will not be until everyone involved in any way in the murder of PC Beshenivsky is brought to justice.
[25] On 13 February 2024, he appeared at Leeds Crown Court listening to the proceedings with the help of an interpreter, as the prosecution case was outlined.
[26] Khan admitted to organising the robbery to regain £12,000 owed to him by the owner of the travel agent but denied the other charges, claiming that Hassan Razzaq had offered to "get the money back" and had not told him that guns would be used.
[31] In March 2008, both Shah and Yusuf Jama had a further four years added to their sentences for wounding with intent after they stabbed another inmate at Frankland prison in Brasside, County Durham.
[32] On 18 August 2006, the rugby league club Bradford Bulls made a presentation on the pitch at their home stadium during the half-time interval of a match with Castleford Tigers, in Beshenivsky's honour.
Her widower Paul, along with the Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police Colin Cramphorn, were guests as Bradford Bulls chairman Peter Hood unveiled a memorial bench in her honour, which was to be placed in the club's reception area.
At the unveiling, Prime Minister Gordon Brown paid tribute to the officer's "dedication, professionalism and courage".
"[citation needed] In November 2008, the British National Party was condemned for using the murder as an example of racially motivated crime in a piece of literature which was circulated to voters.