POLICE REMEMBRANCE DAY 29 SEPTEMBER Every day across the state, thousands of Victoria Police officers serve and protect their communities and then head home after a job well done.
Leading Senior Constable Keith Patterson, who died in September 2018, is remembered as a “genuine bloke” who worked hard for the sake of his colleagues.
However there have also been officers over the years who have not made it home, those who have died in the line of duty.
In 2006 he returned to work, but over time, the replacement valve again became infected.
National Police Remembrance Day on 29 September will commemorate the sacrifices of these brave men and women. The day will be marked with a metropolitan march and service at the Victoria Police Memorial and with regional services held across the state. The Victoria Police Memorial, located within the Kings Domain gardens on St Kilda Road, includes an honour roll featuring the names of 166 Victoria Police officers who have died in the line of duty. Two new names have been sadly added to the honour roll in the past 12 months, those of Detective Senior Sergeant Vic Kostiuk and Leading Senior Constable Keith Patterson.
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POLICE LIFE | SPRING 2019
Ldg Sen Const Patterson, 63, died as a result of organ failure linked to long-term illness thought to be caused by a scuffle with a prisoner many years earlier. In May 2005, Ldg Sen Const Patterson cut his hand while trying to place the resistant prisoner in the rear of a divisional van. This led to a staph infection that affected a heart valve he had replaced the previous year and he was off work for a considerable period of time.
The staph infection meant he was unable to undergo surgery and he died from organ failure on 7 September last year. Ldg Sen Const Patterson joined Victoria Police in 1986 as a 31-year-old, following in the footsteps of his father, who was also a police officer. Ldg Sen Const Patterson was a valuable and respected member of several stations within the Wellington Police Service Area in Gippsland during his career. He worked mostly general duties before becoming a Divisional Intelligence Unit analyst in Sale. Ldg Sen Const Patterson made an important contribution as a members’ delegate with The Police Association of Victoria from 2000, becoming a life member in 2012.
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Association president Senior Sergeant John Laird remembers Ldg Sen Const Patterson as a “heart and soul” association activist, who always put his fellow association members first. “‘Patto’ was just a genuine bloke who always had the back of his members,” Sen Sgt Laird said. “There was never any fuss about him; he just simply got on with the job of doing his bit to support the association and his members in many of our successful campaigns over many years. “Members have a lot to thank Patto for.” Ldg Sen Const Patterson was posthumously awarded a Victoria Police Star in May this year. He is survived by his wife Di, and sons Ryan, Lachlan and Matthew.
