Queensland’s Police ‘family’ came together today to honour fallen police officers as part of National Police Remembrance Day commemorations.
Families, friends and supporters of the state’s police service joined with Minister for Police and Corrective Services and Minister for Fire and Emergency Services, Mark Ryan and Queensland Police Service Commissioner, Katarina Carroll today for a small COVID-safe service.
The service was held at the Police Memorial in the Brisbane City Botanic Gardens.
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.
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.
