Remembering ‘Finn’

7 February 2023

Warm tributes have been paid to fallen colleague PC Chris Findley on the 10th anniversary of his death. 

Chris died in hospital on 7 February 2013 from serious head injuries sustained when he was attacked outside a Wolverhampton nightclub 10 days earlier.

The 33-year-old was off-duty when he was set upon as he left the venue. He was punched and left unconscious in the road.

He had served with West Midlands Police for nine years and patrolled the Sandwell area as a valued member of the neighbourhood policing team.

Inspector Si Hensley, who was Chris’s sergeant at the time, said: “Everyone knew him as ‘Finn’ rather than Chris and he was the kind of guy who would brighten up the room.

“He was the heart and soul of any party or meeting or conversation and he was like an instant morale-boost wherever he went.

“Finn had one of the best senses of humour I have ever encountered and was just one of those people who was instantly likeable. He was big-hearted, couldn’t do enough for anyone and I never met a single person who didn’t fall in love with him.”

In the years after his death, Si organised annual charity concerts to raise funds for the Brain and Spine Foundation which were popular and well-attended.

Si, who chose Chris to be the best man at his wedding, added: “He is survived by a group of friends who still talk about him and have very fond memories and he is still in our thoughts daily.”

West Midlands Police Federation said its thoughts were with Chris’s family, friends and colleagues.

Branch chair Rich Cooke said: “Chris was such a popular officer and I know how many colleagues remember him with fondness and humour. His loss is still felt widely in the Force and it’s important to recognise that.”

A 19-year-old man was sentenced to three-and-a-half years in a young offenders’ institution after pleading guilty to manslaughter at Wolverhampton Crown Court in July 2013.