David J. Farley of Plympton, Plymouth, United Kingdom

David J. Farley of Plympton, Plymouth, United Kingdom

Wednesday, March 12, 2008

Michael Todd, QPM, B.Sc(Hons) M.Phil.

It was with great sadness that I learned, last evening, of the tragic news and disbelief of the sudden death and mysterious circumstances surrounding the alleged suicide of Mr. Todd, Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police. He was an inspirational police leader who instilled confidence and respect in the police service in general but Greater Manchester in particular. That integrity spread beyond the police service itself and into the wider general public which is an achievement many senior officers aim for but few succeed to secure. He was a "copper's copper" in every sense of the word and his ability and skills as an outstanding chief constable will be sorely missed by GMP, ACPO, the Home Office and the police service as a whole.

I am unaware of the reasons for the imbalance of his mind which may have resulted in his decision to take his own life despite a lot of speculation currently permeating on the internet. Whatever his reasons it is still a tremendous tragedy and I cannot help but feel for his family and friends. I know he has a wife and 3 young children and to them I pray for God's blessing in these days of traumatic grief.

The country needs more leaders of Mr. Todd's calibre and whatever his personal problems were I cannot believe they warranted the termination of his life so abruptly and tragically. A sad loss to his family and also to the police service as a whole.

2 comments:

Annette said...

Agreed.
Our thoughts are wih his family and friends.

Whichendbites said...

It does not take long for the media to cover what they perceive to be the story with their reliance on juicy gossip to make the headlines. Very sad, for him, for his family especially. I hope the media show some respect for his family.