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Honouring fallen heroes
Editorial: Danielle Ford
Photography: AAP
Every year on 29 September, police and the Australian public pause to remember fallen officers who have made the ultimate sacrifice while doing their duty to help keep the community safe.
On this day, National Police Remembrance Day, the Victoria Police family remembers the 170 Victoria Police officers who have died in the line of duty.
Each of these officers’ names features at the Victoria Police Memorial, located within Kings Domain gardens on St Kilda Road, Melbourne.
This year, four names have sadly been added to the memorial – Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris.
On the evening of 22 April 2020, these four officers were killed in the line of duty in a road incident on the Eastern Freeway at Kew.
It was a loss felt by every member of Victoria Police, and particularly by Eastern Region and Road Policing Command, whose ranks the four officers worked in when they died.
Road Policing Command Assistant Commissioner Libby Murphy said the loss of the four members added to the Police Memorial Wall this year, and the loss off all listed on the wall, is something felt by every police officer.
"Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Josh Prestney and Constable Glen Humphris were simply conducting routine duties, which our frontline members do several times a day, when they died,” AC Murphy said.
“This makes what happened so much more tragic, as it could have been any of us standing on that road.
Eastern Region Assistant Commissioner Glenn Weir echoed this sentiment and noted the lasting impact of the Kew incident on the organisation.
“Since the incident, I know it has been difficult to put on the same uniform as our brothers and sister who lost their lives and to carry on working, but it is the duty of police officers to do so,” AC Weir said.
“The nature of police work comes with some risk and, as this tragic incident has shown, harm can befall even when we take all the right precautions.
“While what happened in April is grossly unfair, as is the loss of the additional 166 people whose names are etched on the wall, we as a police force remain committed to ensuring the safety of the public in everything we do.”
The addition of the four names to the honour roll would usually be done during a state service on National Police Remembrance Day at the memorial wall.
However, due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and Chief Health Officer directions restricting the ability for people to gather, a special video service was conducted this year and shared for people to watch together online in place of the usual service.
The video service also remembered and honoured the lives of another 19 Victoria Police officers, Protective Services Officers, Police Custody Officers, Victorian Public Service employees and police chaplains who died in the past 12 months.
