Fallen colleagues remembered on Police Remembrance Day

Police around the country will be marking Police Remembrance Day tomorrow, honouring colleagues who have died or been killed on duty.

Police Association President Chris Cahill says the day is a chance to reflect and a reminder of the dangers police officers face on a daily basis. “It is a sobering occasion for the families and friends of the dead, and current officers and Police employees who attend, and it is extremely important that they all feel supported,” Mr Cahill said.

This year, the tragedy of the Christchurch terror attacks and the suffering that caused around the country and the world would be on people’s minds too, he said.

Police Remembrance Day falls on September 29, the feast day of the Archangel Michael, patron saint of police, but this year it will be observed on September 27 with a service at the Police College and other locations throughout the country.

The ceremony includes the reading out of the names of the 32 police officers slain on duty and 62 other Police staff who have died as a result of performing their duties since 1886, and serving and former staff who have died in the past year.

Police staff, family members and others will wear the distinctive huia feather-shaped Police Remembrance Pin designed by the Police Association and introduced in partnership with NZ Police as the symbol of police remembrance in New Zealand.

“The growing number of police and others who wear the pin on Remembrance Day and in the days leading up to it, is a sign of respect for those who have lost their lives,” Mr Cahill said.

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