The families of two officers allegedly gunned down by Australia’s most wanted man in the line of duty have laid flowers at a police memorial where their names are etched in history.
National Police Remembrance Day marks one of the most significant days in the policing calendar, offering a chance to pay tribute to those killed on the job.
No one knows that horror more than the families of Victorian police officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart, who were killed in the small town of Porepunkah on August 26 while trying to carry out a search warrant.
Leading Senior Constable Thompson, a Victoria Police veteran of 38 years, was just a week away from retiring.
Hundreds of their colleagues are still involved in the search for Dezi Freeman, who is accused of firing the weapon that killed the men.
The families of the slain officers attended the service at the police memorial in Melbourne’s St Kilda Road on Monday and laid flowers where their names have been etched to the honour board.
Their names will be added to the national police memorial in 2026.
Victoria Police commissioner Mike Bush said no one would forget the events in Porepunkah where “two of our very brave, courageous officers had their lives taken.”
“Those tragic losses remind us of the uncertainty, and, should I say, the inherent dangers that policing brings with us,” Mr Bush said during the memorial.
“To our friends and colleagues and the police who have left us, farewell. We honour you, and we will always remember you.”
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allen also attended the memorial and acknowledged the increasing dangers police faced.
“Today’s officers not only face the traditional risks of the job, but also rising extremism, growing conspiracies and the pressures of an online world where anger spreads faster than facts,” she said.
A historical death was also added to the Melbourne memorial’s honour wall this year.
Constable Patrick Whyte died in the line of duty in 1866. Sadly none of his living relatives could make the memorial.
Another touchstone to be added to the national memorial is that of decorated Tasmania Police Constable Keith Anthony Smith, who was shot dead while on duty in North Motton in June.
A man remains before the courts charged with murdering Const Smith, a well-respected officer with 25 years’ experience.
He received the Commissioner’s Medal in 2011 and a 20-year clasp in 2021, as well as the National Police Service Medal in 2016.
A Tasmanian contingent including Commissioner Donna Adams and the fallen constable’s family will attend the national ceremony in Canberra.
At the Wall of Remembrance in Sydney, acting NSW police commissioner Peter Thurtell said “the force still felt the loss of three of our interstate colleagues”.
The state is adding the 2019 suicide of veteran Casino police officer Stephen Nixon to the wall, which the commissioner described as “a solemn tribute to courage, sacrifice and service”.
Premier Chris Minns also paid tribute to police accountant Curtis Cheng, gunned down 10 years ago by a radicalised Islamist teenager outside police headquarters in Parramatta.
In Queensland, 97-year-old Trevor Price will pay tribute to his late grandfather, Constable Albert Price, who was murdered in 1905 at just 29.
Memorials are being held across the nation.
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