The ‘Call Of Duty’ Killer

Was Dale Cregan Killing Just To Make People Afraid Of Him?

Dale Creagan — photo credit Greater Manchester Police

Police officers knew he was still out there. They knew who the man was they were looking for, and they knew he was a stone-cold killer. They knew his MO — his modus operandi — was to both shoot his victims and also toss in a fragmentation grenade.

Gangster Dale Cregan knew the game was up, and he would soon have his collar felt when law enforcement caught up with him.

Police asked Cregan’s accomplice, who was already in custody, where Cregan was and what he was up doing. The reply was short and enigmatic.

“COD”, the Police were told: It took a little while for the Police to work out that his fellow criminal was telling them he had gone ‘Call of Duty’ — cop killer.

And that’s what happened next.

Dale Christopher Cregan was born 6/6/83 near Manchester, England. His father, Paul, was a tool setter in Manchester. Cregan was the second of three children in the family. Shortly after his younger sibling was born, their father, Paul, left the family. He set up home with another woman (ironically, in the light of later events, a former Greater Manchester Police officer).

Cregan bitterly resented his father for leaving, and contemporary reports say that he because violent from that point onwards

Young Cregan had early involvement in crime and drugs in particular.

Firearms are rare in the UK. Unlike the USA, a British citizen might go all year without seeing a gun of any kind, especially not a handgun (other than TV shows and movies).

Police on patrol in the UK are not routinely armed, and most are not authorised to handle weapons at all. However, specially trained officers in every major town and city have firearms with them, typically locked in purpose-built gun safes in their vehicle. The officers can be quickly deployed on the streets when needed. They can deploy their weapons when authorised explicitly by superior officers. Unless they already know or strongly suspect they will be facing someone armed with firearms, officers dispatched to an incident will not be armed.