AN OFF-DUTY police officer died a hero after he tried to wrestle a revolver from a "paranoid and psychotic" gunman, an inquest heard today.
Pc Ian Dibell, 41, was shot in the chest as he tried to stop Peter Reeve gunning down his neighbours in Clacton on July 9 last year, Chelmsford Crown Court was told.
His death sparked a 17-hour manhunt across Essex – involving 150 police officers – which ended when Reeve shot himself in a Writtle churchyard the next morning.
"Pc Dibell ran to the sound of gunfire and confronted Reeve near his home. He attempted to disarm him but was shot," said clerk of the court, Paul Robertson.
PC Dibell had tried to intervene when Reeve, a 64-year-old mechanic, shot at his neighbour and partner – who he wrongly believed to be involved in drug dealing.
The inquest heard that Reeve was "paranoid and psychotic" and thought that his neighbour – Trevor Marshall – was trying to kill him.
He confronted Mr Marshall and his girlfriend Kat Karolak with a gun at 3.30pm in a communal hallway.
He shot at the pair least seven times, first on foot and then through the window of his blue Toyota, as they fled through the residential streets.
The court was told that Pc Dibell, upon hearing the gun fire, raced from his home on Redbridge Road, and "lunged" at Reeve through the open car window.
He managed to get two hands on the gun, a 96-year-old British military World War I service revolver, but was shot through his right-hand and his chest.
Witnesses reported seeing Pc Dibell collapse just yards from where he was shot and 23 people called 999 in 12 minutes.
Reeve, who was brought up in Chelmsford but had lived in Clacton for 10 years, then ran Mr Marshall over and crashed his car, allowing his neighbour to escape.
"I saw Pc Dibell approach the car, he lent in the car – I heard a shot and he fell back clutching his chest," Mr Marshall told police.
Reeve, a father-of-two – who was detained under the Mental Health Act in 2001 – was described by his landlord as "having a chip on his shoulder" and as a "fantasist".
He told a friend in the days leading up to the tragedy that we wanted to petrol bomb Mr Marshall and his partner.
After crashing his car, Reeve made his way to Weeley –where he told one resident: "I've had such a bad day. If I told you about what sort of day I've had you would not believe me. I've had a hell of a day."
A 6.21pm that evening, he was pictured on a train heading toward Colchester.
The court heard that Reeve then walked to Colchester North where he took a southbound train to Chelmsford.
At around 8pm, the gunman took a taxi from Chelmsford station to Melbourne where he spent around 30 minutes with his sister, Janet Hynes.
At this stage, his estranged wife of 23 years, Susan Reeve, who also lives in Melbourne, was under heavy police guard.
The next day he was seen in the churchyard of All Saints Church in Writtle at 7.10am.
An hour later David Colyer, a gardener at the church, saw Reeve sink to his knees and put the gun to his own forehead.
He told the groundsman: "I'm the man who shot the constable in Clacton. I'm sorry I shot the constable."
In the case of Pc Dibell, Essex Coroner Caroline Beasley-Murray recorded a verdict of unlawful killing.
For Reeve, she recorded a verdict of suicide.
