By Jeremy Sollars
NATIONAL Police Remembrance Day was observed in Warwick with a moving service at St Mary’s Catholic Church on Thursday.
Police and emergency services personnel were well-represented at the service which was also attended by local councillors, SES personnel, Crime Stoppers volunteers, retired police officers and community members.
Police Remembrance Day recalls the sacrifices made by the 766 police officers around Australia who have lost their lives while on active duty.
The most recent was 43-year-old New South Wales Police Sergeant Geoffrey Graham Richardson, who on 5 March this year was killed after his car hit a tree in the Hunter Valley near Maitland while he was trying to get ahead of a pursuit to lay road spikes.
On 2 October 2015, 58-year-old police accountant Curtis Cheng was gunned down by 15-year-old Farhad Jabar as he left police headquarters at Parramatta.
The principal address at the Warwick service was given by Reverend John Case, who said our police “stand in the gap between evil and lawlessness” and the safety of the community.
He said the loss of officers to the community was “immense” but to their families it was “immeasurable”.
Donations were taken up for the Queensland Police Legacy Scheme, an independent incorporated organisation and registered charity which assists dependant families of deceased Queensland Police Officers, including officers whose spouse or partner has died and officers with a terminal illness.
To find out more or to make a donation visit www.policelegacyqld.org.au
