Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, the Honourable Mark Ryan MP, joined Commissioner Katarina Carroll today in a service to honour fallen police officers for National Police Remembrance Day.
The small but significant service at the Police Memorial in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens involved police joining the families of serving police officers who have lost their lives.
National Police Remembrance Day falls on September 29 each year and is heralded with commemorative services throughout Queensland and Australia.
Commissioner Carroll said this was an important day for the families, friends and colleagues of officers who had died.
"The death of an officer is felt deeply - by their families and friends, and also by their colleagues, members of the police family and the wider community," Commissioner Carroll said.
"Today, we pause and reflect on the memories of those officers who have died too soon, from those who passed in the early days of the Queensland Police Service to those who have only recently left us.
"This year, unfortunately, we have lost a friend and colleague in Senior Constable Dave Masters, who died in the line of duty. We have also lost many other members of our police family, and their loss is felt strongly by those of us left behind.
"While today's service will no doubt be a painful milestone for anyone grieving the loss of a beloved QPS member, it is important that we all take the time to remember them and their service to the people of Queensland.
"I stand in solidarity with Police Legacy and Communities Supporting Police in grieving with the families of all our fallen officers."
2021 also marks the anniversary of the deaths of the following police officers:
10 years
- Detective Senior Constable Damian Leeding was first to respond to an armed robbery in Pacific Pines in 2011, where he was fatally shot.
20 years
- Senior Constable David Shean died when his police motorcycle and a truck collided on Logan Road at Eight Mile Plains in Brisbane in 2001.
30 years
- Constable Mark Goodwin died in a single-vehicle crash on the Centenary Highway at Jamboree Heights in 1991 while involved in a search for eight dangerous escaped prisoners.
- Constable Anthony Greaves was killed when his police motorcycle hit a guard rail on Vulture Street, Woolloongabba in 1991.
40 years
- Constable Russell Wilson was in pursuit of a suspect vehicle travelling south on the Bruce Highway at Cairns in 1981, when his police car collided with the offender's vehicle, causing it to overturn twice.
- Constable Trevor Thompson was killed when his police motorcycle collided with a car at the intersection of Mulgrave Road and Lyons Street, Cairns in 1981.
40 years
- Constable Russell Wilson was in pursuit of a suspect vehicle travelling south on the Bruce Highway at Cairns in 1981, when his police car collided with the offender's vehicle, causing it to overturn twice.
- Constable Trevor Thompson was killed when his police motorcycle collided with a car at the intersection of Mulgrave Road and Lyons Street, Cairns in 1981.
50 years
- Senior Constable John "Jack" Rynne died after his police car ran off the Upper Barron Road and plunged 100ft down a slope, seven miles from Malanda in 1971.
70 years
- Constable Harold Bidner was killed when his police motorcycle skidded on loose gravel and crashed into a guide post and concrete culvert at Redcliffe in 1951.
90 years
- Constable Joseph Herbert died in an Atherton hospital from injuries sustained when his car struck one of the railway crossing posts at the Weerimba railway line near Yungaburra in 1931.
- Constable Ernest Dawson died in a Brisbane hospital after injuries sustained in a traffic incident at Yungaburra in 1931.
100 years
- Constable Thomas Griffin died in a Cairns hospital from a fractured skull after he fell from his horse at Woree in 1921.
120 years
- Constable John Cullen died from injuries received when he was thrown from his troop horse at Southport in 1901.
130 years
- Constable William Doyle died from peritonitis as the result of an infection sustained after falling off his horse at Muttaburra in 1891.
- On the journey back to the Adavale Police Station from duty at the local racecourse in 1891, Constable Patrick Curtin's horse shied and knocked him against a tree, striking his head and fracturing his skull.
140 years
- Sub-Inspector Henry P. Kaye was attacked near the Woolgar gold fields (about 100 miles north of Richmond, North Queensland) and died as a result of his injuries in 1881.
- Constable Denis Ryan drowned after he was washed overboard during heavy seas while transferring police horses from the steamer Katoomba to the mainland near Port Douglas in 1881.
- Sub-Inspector George Dyas went missing while on duty in 1881. His body was found, having been speared in the back.
160 years
- Constable Matthew Connolly drowned in the flooded Sandy Creek near Laidley in 1861, while trying to deliver urgently required medicine.
Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk and Minister Ryan also joined Commissioner Carroll in honouring officers in a candlelight vigil in Brisbane on Tuesday (September 28) evening.
Minister Ryan and Commissioner Carroll joined in solemn contemplation with representatives from the families of Queensland Police officers at the dusk service, lighting candles in memoriam.
The vigil at the Police Memorial in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens is held on the eve of National Police Remembrance Day, a day dedicated to honouring the memory of officers who have been killed in the line of duty, and those whose death did not occur as a result of their duty.
Commissioner Carroll said the vigil was a sombre and significant way to commemorate those officers who have lost their lives.
"This vigil is an important event - it's an opportunity to come together to remember those we have lost," Commissioner Carroll said.
"Our police community has recently felt tremendous loss with the tragic death of Senior Constable Dave Masters, and it is critical that we continue to support one another as we encounter milestones like today.
"We pause to acknowledge not just the sacrifice of officers have who lost their lives on duty, but also their families, friends and colleagues who continue to feel the loss of their loved ones every day.
"Similar candlelight vigils are being hosted around Queensland this evening, in memoriam of all officers who have lost their lives and in a unified show of support to those left behind.
"Through this tradition, we ensure that these officers, their loyalty to their communities and their sacrifice will never be forgotten."
Blue ribbons and memorial pins are available from police stations around Queensland for a small donation to Queensland Police Legacy and Community Supporting Police.
