Flying Squad officer with distinguished record
A giant of a man with a huge heart
David Francis Ryan and his twin Michael were born in Edinburgh on June 5, 1954.
He was brought up for a short while in the town of Berwick-uponTweed before, in 1957, his family moved to the town of Crieff.
David’s father had, at that time, taken up the position of chef at one of the town’s most prestigious hotels.
David attended the local primary school in Crieff and Perth High School before going to Dundee College of Commerce between 1970 -1972 where he studied law and his desire to become a police officer became entrenched.
David joined the Metropolitan Police in 1973 and was posted to Kentish Town Police Station in north London.
He took to police work easily in a measured, methodical way, exhibiting sound judgement and presenting straight and honest views. His communication ethic and outlook at that time were considered to be impressively articulate for an officer so young in service and the professional way he conducted himself.
Such was his expertise, he served three tours on New ScotlandYard’s world-famous Flying Squad between the mid 1980s up to early 2000s as detective sergeant and detective inspector, from their branch offices in north and east London.
He detected and successfully prosecuted many teams of organised, sometimes sophisticated, armed robbers, successfully convicting them and deservedly being commended for his detective abilities by the courts, the commissioner of the Metropolitan Police and his deputies.
David was a very proud Scotsman. A giant of a man with a huge heart and a dry sense of humour.
His Flying Squad tenures were interspersed with postings in various areas of the London boroughs of Camden, Islington, Haringay and Enfield , with a spell at the Detective Training School, in Hendon.
He will be remembered by many for his sheer professionalism, expertise, tenacity, perseverance and leadership qualities but a constant thread throughout his service was as a kind individual who, despite being intensely busy, would give any officer sound advice and often exhibited care to fellow officers whether at work or in private.
David was also an expert in crisis incident management response hostage negotiation.
In 2000 David attended the FBI Academy in Quantico Virginia. To this day colleagues remember his generosity in sharing experiences and tactics with his grounded, understated approach.
David retired from the Metropolitan Police in 2003 following his attachment to New ScotlandYard’s stolen motor vehicle squad, another specialism in which David excelled.
David succumbed to cancer in Norfolk, near the town of Diss where he lived with his wife Christine, who he married in 1978. Sadly, David’s siblings have all predeceased him. David is survived by Christine.
A Just Giving Page has been set up for donations to Prostate Cancer Research, in his name - https://www. justgiving.com/fundraising/ Terence-Allen2