workingclasshistory:

On this day, 28 June 1830, Joseph Grantham became the first officer of the new London Metropolitan Police to be killed in the line of duty, in an incident which was later deemed to be “justifiable homicide”.
Grantham tried to stop a fight between two drunk men in Somers Town, North London, and was then kicked to death.
At the subsequent inquest, the jury determined that his killing was “justifiable” and that Grantham himself was responsible due to “over exertion in the discharge of his duty”.
The Met were the world’s first modern, professional police force, created in 1829 and based in part on the experiences of the Royal Irish Constabulary, responsible for enforcing British colonial rule in Ireland. They were specifically designed to control the growing numbers of working class people, and break up strikes and demonstrations ideally without massacring people – as occurred in Peterloo 10 years prior, and which caused protests to escalate.
As such, they were extremely unpopular, especially in working class areas of London, where a popular game for children was to hide in doorways until an officer walked past, at which point they would throw a brick or stone at him.
Other police forces began to be created elsewhere, often by colonial authorities. For example in Kenya, the first police force was created by the Imperial British East Africa Company to protect their stores, and other police forces were established across the British empire. After colonised countries gained independence, in most cases police forces remained relatively intact.
In the United States, the first forces in the North were set up to control working class crowds. In the South, many forces emerged from slave patrols, which were responsible for pursuing enslaved people who escaped, and deterring resistance by doling out brutal violence and terror.
Learn more about problems with the institution of the police in this book: https://shop.workingclasshistory.com/products/the-end-of-policing-alex-s-vitale https://www.facebook.com/workingclasshistory/photos/a.296224173896073/2021773698007770/?type=3