Sharon Beshenivsky

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Police Constable Sharon Beshenivsky (14 January 1966–18 November 2005) was a West Yorkshire Police constable shot dead during a robbery in Bradford, England. She was the eighty-ninth police officer and the sixth female officer to die in the line of duty in England and Wales, the second female officer to be fatally shot (the first was Yvonne Fletcher in an incident involving the Libyan Embassy in 1984), and the first female officer to die in an ordinary gun crime. She had only been serving as a police officer for nine months.[1] She had three children and two step-children, and died on her daughter's birthday.

Another police officer, PC Teresa Millburn, was also shot in the incident, receiving serious wounds to the chest. She had been serving less than two years.

Closed-circuit television cameras in Bradford tracked a car rushing from the scene and used an automatic number plate recognition (ANPR) system to trace its owners. This led to six suspects being arrested, but all were later released.

On 25 November 2005, police named Mustaf Jama (25), Yusaf Jama (19) and Muzzaker Shah (24) as prime suspects who they wish to question. [2]. Yusaf Jama was arrested in Birmingham on 26 November 2005 and was subsequently charged with murder and robbery. On 12 December 2005 Muzzaker Shah was arrested in Newport, Wales and was later charged with her murder. Mustaf Jama remains at large. On 18 December Yusuf Jama was found guilty of all charges against him, including the murder of PC Beshenivsky. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he should serve at least 35 years before being considered for parole - more than double the recommended minimum term imposed on most killers guilty of a single murder. This is expected to keep him in prison until at least 2040 and the age of 60.

Muzzaker Imtiaz Shah, 25, of Birmingham, was also sentenced to life with a recommended minimum of 35 years, which is expected to keep him behind bars until at least 2040 and the age of 60.

Faisal Razzaq, 25, of London, was cleared of murder but found guilty of manslaughter. He was sentenced to life imprisonment with a recommendation that he should serve at least 11 years before being considered for parole. This is expected to keep him behind bars until at least 2017 and the age of 36.

On March 2 2007, Hassan Razzaq, 26 and the brother of Faisal, was also convicted of manslaughter and was given a 20 year sentence[3].

All three of the killers were also found guilty of robbery and a series of firearms offences.[4]

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Sharon's funeral took place on 11 January 2006 in Bradford Cathedral. [5].

On Friday 18 August 2006 Bradford Bulls rugby league club made a presentation on the pitch at their home ground, Grattan Stadium, during the half-time interval of the match with Castleford Tigers, in Sharon's honour. Sharon's husband Paul along with Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police Colin Cramphorn were guests as Bradford Bulls chairman Peter Hood unveiled a memorial bench in her honour which is to be placed in the club's reception area.