Fallen officers etched in police memory

An officer who drowned while attempting to rescue a fellow canyoner and another killed by a suspected stolen vehicle have been remembered by colleagues on a special day for police.

Senior Constable Kelly Ann Foster has become the 275th person remembered by NSW Police, with her name etched on the Wall of Remembrance for National Police Remembrance Day.

The 39-year-old senior constable and outdoor adventurer died in January while trying to save software engineer Jennifer Qi from a whirlpool at Mount Wilson in the Blue Mountains.

NSW Police Minister David Elliot paid tribute to all service members past and present, acknowledging their extraordinary efforts against the current pandemic.

“It is a sad day to lose a serving member of the NSW Police Force because our officers go to work each day not knowing if they might come home,” he said.

While hundreds would normally gather for the ceremony, COVID-19 prevented large groups from coming together in NSW as well as Victoria, where 174 fallen police officers were commemorated in a virtual service.

The day was especially solemn in Queensland where Senior Constable David Masters, who died while on duty in June, was remembered.

Sen Const Masters was responding to a suspected stolen vehicle when he was struck and killed on the Bruce Highway, north of Brisbane.

Two women have been charged with his murder.

Queensland Police Minister Mark Ryan said the day marked a really important tradition.

“It is because we make a promise to every single police officer and their families, that should anything ever happen to them, that we will always support their families, and that we will remember and honour their service,” he said.

Five historical deaths were added to the Tasmania Police Memorial Baton including Constable George Lucas, who died in 1829 aged 37.

Const Lucas was murdered from a blow to the head by a captured runaway convict who he was transporting to Oatlands.

Fallen officers etched in police memory
Independent Information