Case of murdered police officer reopened

The unsolved case of a murdered police constable has been reopened eight years after he was shot by a gang in a London street.

PC Patrick Dunne, 44, was killed by a single bullet to his chest on the night of 20 October 1993. He had he disturbed the gangland killing of William Danso, 31, a club bouncer in Clapham, south London.

Police hope that witnesses will be able to provide fresh testimonies and that advances in forensic science will reveal new evidence identifying the killers. A Scotland Yard spokesman said the decision to reopen the case came from a regular review of murder investigations. A team of detectives has already been assigned.

PC Dunne had cycled to a house in Clapham to check reports of a minor disturbance and was alerted by the sound of gunshots. As he went to investigate, the officer – easily spotted in the fluorescent top over his uniform – was killed by a round from a semi-automatic pistol. The gang left the scene laughing and firing bullets into the air.

Three men were charged in connection with the murder in 1994 but their cases were dropped because of a lack of evidence.The pistols were found a year later in Wandsworth cemetery, south London.