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Police chief joins tribute to illustrious predecessor killed in the line of duty

Brighton ceremony honours memory of Jewish chief constable who was brutally murdered in the 1800s

July 9, 2018 11:18
Henry Solomon - and Chief Constable Giles York at the ceremony

ByYael Breuer, Yael Breuer BRIGHTON

1 min read

A ceremony has been held in Brighton to honour a local Jewish chief constable who was murdered in the line of duty in 1844.

Brighton’s current chief constable, Giles York, joined police and Jewish community representatives for the memorial to Henry Solomon at the old Jewish cemetery in Florence Place, where he is buried.

Godfrey Gould, former chair of the Sussex branch of the Jewish Historical Society, told the gathering that Mr Solomon was bludgeoned to death with a poker by a thief he was interviewing in his office.

Paying tribute to his “revered” predecessor, Chief Constable York said: “Henry Solomon was a generous and compassionate police officer, true to his faith and true to his office. He had 32 men working for him. I have 5,000 men and women working across Sussex — and I do not have a poker in my office.