Was The Ripper A Police Official?

[Natasha]

Hi All,

After reading Dew's memoirs, I thought I would start this thread, as a few ideas occurred to me whilst reading it.

Dew does hypothesise that the ripper may have been someone of respectability:

Let us assume for a moment he was a man of prominence and good repute locally. Against such a man, in the absence of direct evidence, it is too much to expect that local police officers would hold such a terrible suspicion.

And, assuming this to be the case, the man's amazing immunity can be the more readily explained. The same qualities which silenced the suspicions of his woman victims would keep him right with the police officers who knew and respected him.

I am not putting this forward as anything more than a reasonable deduction from the facts as they are known. It is merely one of the many possibilities, though, I must say, far more likely than some of the wild theories that have been advanced.

Now here is my theory on this matter.
What if the ripper was a police official? Could that be possible? This idea could trip me up slightly because it might have been difficult for him to gain the confidence of the victims, but Stride having being attacked by BS man and pipeman would surely be relived to see a policeman, right?

Mrs. Mortimer sees a man dressed in black walking away, after the death of Stride, she sees him carrying a small shiny black bag. But wait what if it was a lantern rather than a bag (perhaps nearby lights reflected off the metal when he was carrying it)? Didn't the police carry lanterns?

Dew says : Ironically enough, a police officer lived in one of the houses (Mitre Square). He had gone to bed at midnight, worn out by a long day of Ripper hunting, and was doubtless fast asleep by the time the murder was committed, almost under his own window.
Is it too coincidental, am I reading too much into this?

[GUT]

Could he have been? Yes

Is there any evidence that he was? NO

[Natasha]

Could he have been? Yes

Is there any evidence that he was? NO

This whole JTR case is so annoying, why are there so many holes in this case? I know there is alot of 'lost' paperwork, but it seems more deliberate than accidental loss.

[GUT]

This whole JTR case is so annoying, why are there so many holes in this case? I know there is alot of 'lost' paperwork, but it seems more deliberate than accidental loss.

I've never seen any evidence that anything was deliberately "Lost", save that it is apparent that (probably in the 40s-60s period) some staff may have souvenired material from what may have been considered to be dead files.

[Rosella]

Yes, I think Donald Rumbelow said in one of his books that he believed one of the reasons why the Ripper files held by the Yard were so thin in recent years is that during the Second World War there was a terrible paper shortage and so officers in search of note paper would go and pillage very old files from the nineteenth century. (That's as well as taking souvenirs of course.)

[drstrange169]

Hello Natasha,

Mrs. Mortimer's man came forward, that, at least, is one of the facts we do know.

[Natasha]

I've never seen any evidence that anything was deliberately "Lost", save that it is apparent that (probably in the 40s-60s period) some staff may have souvenired material from what may have been considered to be dead files.

Yes, I think Donald Rumbelow said in one of his books that he believed one of the reasons why the Ripper files held by the Yard were so thin in recent years is that during the Second World War there was a terrible paper shortage and so officers in search of note paper would go and pillage very old files from the nineteenth century. (That's as well as taking souvenirs of course.)

Yes that is the case to some degree, but Warren destroying the GSG makes me wonder what other possible evidence was disregarded/destroyed. Also it's worth pointing out that there was mention of suspects deemed to be of jewish appearance in many newspaper articles in regards to leather apron, so I don't really buy Warren's excuse for destroying it.

I would like to point out that top ranking officers were also refrained from talking to the newspapers. Why? Before you say, so the case wasn't compromised, the police made a big mistake by letting the press release JTR related letters. So that took up some of the police's time.

Also if there is little evidence in regards to the JTR case, how can you suggest that there is little evidence to suggest that possible evidence was held back or destroyed?

Hello Natasha,

Mrs. Mortimer's man came forward, that, at least, is one of the facts we do know.

Hi Dr Strange,

I hadn't heard about that. What was the story with this guy?

[Natasha]

Who Was The Police Officer?

I wonder if it's possible to find out who the police officer was, who lived in Mitre Square almost directly above the murder.

[Pcdunn]

I like the policeman as suspect idea, but am not sure how feasible it really could have been. Dew's comments are interesting, thanks for quoting them, Natasha.

The librarian in me weeps to hear of the lost and stolen documents referring to this case. Though, as they apparently had no real files, I guess I see how it could have happened.

[jerryd]

I wonder if it's possible to find out who the police officer was, who lived in Mitre Square almost directly above the murder.

That would be PC Richard Pearse (City).

[Natasha]

I like the policeman as suspect idea, but am not sure how feasible it really could have been. Dew's comments are interesting, thanks for quoting them, Natasha.

The librarian in me weeps to hear of the lost and stolen documents referring to this case. Though, as they apparently had no real files, I guess I see how it could have happened.

Hi Pat,

No problem

Here's another policeman who could be suspect: PC Richard Brown. He was a seaman, and was in the army before joining the police, who committed suicide on the 16 November 1888 3 days after retiring. What's interesting is his friendship with Warren.

The Jewish Chronicle of 23 November, reporting on the
coroner’s enquiry into his death, tells us that ‘The deceased was a Jew, and before joining the police force was a soldier in the British army. He served in the Egyptian campaign and was decorated with four medals. It transpired that Sir Charles Warren had shown him great kindness, and the deceased became very depressed when the resignation of the late Chief Commissioner was announced.’

Does this account for Warren's reaction to the GSG?

That would be PC Richard Pearse (City).

Hi Jerry,

Thanks for the info, interesting how he and his wife were the only people living in that area.

[Wickerman]

The librarian in me weeps to hear of the lost and stolen documents referring to this case. Though, as they apparently had no real files, I guess I see how it could have happened.

Wasn't it Abberline who told a reporter that they had accumulated, "...no fewer than 1,600 sets of papers respecting our investigations".
When you look at the paperwork created by the Yorkshire Ripper inquiry, it is conceivable that Abberline was at least close in his estimate.

And what are we left with, a shoebox half full of scraps.

[Monty]

PC Richard Pearce lived in Mitre Square with his wife and children.

I suspect it was a police landlord agreement property, as he later lived in Pelham Street.

Monty

[drstrange169]

Hello Natasha,

In his 19 October report, Inspector Donald Swanson wrote that Leon Goldstein was the man with the black bag. Goldstien had read about himself in the newspapers and went to Leman Street Police Station. He was ruled out of the investigation.

The bag contained empty cigar boxes, if I remember rightly.

[martin wilson]

Hi all

Sgt Edward Badham 31H was never too far away. There is an archive thread on him as a suspect, personally I am of the opinion the bloke was seriously overworked.
All the best.