When four members of Victoria Police were hit and killed by a refrigerator truck at the edge of Melbourne's Eastern Freeway in April while trying to impound a speeding Porsche, the nation was plunged into shock.
The sudden deaths on 22 April of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King, Constable Glen Humphris and Constable Josh Prestney were the single greatest loss of life in the history of the force.
Nearly six months later, the officers will be honoured at the National Police Memorial in Canberra as part of National Police Remembrance Day on Tuesday.
Two services will be held to honour the four officers before they are memorialised at the National Police Memorial Wall, which will now enshrine 798 names of fallen police who made the ultimate sacrifice for the communities they served.
Four officers who lost their lives on duty on a Melbourne freeway will be the focus for many on National Police Remembrance Day. Source: Victoria Police
Four Highway Patrol cars will escort four plaques in a motorcade from the Australian Federal Police College in Barton to the National Police Memorial in Kings Park, before the touchstones are mounted onto the large stone shrine.
AFP Commissioner Reece Kershaw APM said the day was about paying tribute to police who had made the ultimate sacrifice.
Wreaths at the National Police Memorial in Canberra. Source: AAP
“Today we remember those whose lives were cut tragically short because they were serving their community,’’ Mr Kershaw said.
“There are 798 names on the National Police Memorial Wall, 798 too many. There are too many families who no longer have a father, mother, husband or wife.
“To those families who have lost loved ones, we grieve with you. We also reflect on their commitment to duty and striving every day to keep the public safe.
“In particular, we stand with the families and loved ones of the four Victoria Police officers who were tragically taken from us earlier this year. While we can never take away the weight of your loss, across Australia, the entire policing family, is here to support you.”
A National Police Remembrance Day Dusk Service will be held at the National Police Memorial at 4.30pm AEST.
Australian Federal Police (AFP) Commissioner Reece Kershaw. Source: AAP
Due to social distancing restrictions, police commissioners and representatives are unable to attend in person and have been encouraged to send virtual messages to be screened at the ceremony.
The driver of the truck that killed the officers, Mohinder Singh Bajwa, 47, from Cranbourne, remains in custody charged with multiple offences, including four counts of dangerous driving causing death, driving under the influence, trafficking methamphetamine, trafficking cannabis and other drug-related offences.
The Porsche driver Richard Pusey, 42, allegedly failed to help any of the four police officers when the truck crashed into them and was even accused of filming one one of the dying officers rather than helping her.
Mr Pusey faces 15 charges, including reckless conduct endangering serious injury, speeding, failing to render assistance, possessing the drug ice and destroying evidence.
Both Mr Bajwa and Mr Pusey are due to return to court in October.
