Sophie Wang death: How police and ambos dealt with confronting scenes

Amid the desperate grief over the tragic death of 10-year-old Sophie Wang, a key group of people helped provide some light in the darkness. Here’s why we owe them our thanks.

They say that light shines brighter in the deepest dark.

That was very much the case in the Gold Coast last week.

The death of 10-year-old Sophie Wang was as dark a moment as any to befall this city. The shock and deep sadness felt by the community in Carrara, and indeed the Gold Coast as a whole, was tremendous.

No words, no gestures, can ever sear away the pain of that grief. That is clear.

The light in the darkness, however, was also plain to see.

It started, as ever, with the police and ambulance officers who were called to Sophie’s Emerald Lakes home on that dark and rainy Tuesday evening.

Tributes left at the Emerald Lakes street where young Sophie Wang lost her life. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

The community owes these men and women a great debt of gratitude for the difficult work they do in such circumstances.

“The scene was incredibly confronting and our attending members, both the police and paramedics, will be receiving the necessary support,” Detective Acting Inspector Kent Ellis said. “In my 15-year career as a detective it is one of the most confronting scenes I have seen.”

What they encountered that night would be difficult for most of us to process. The days that followed will have been tough too, as officers not only worked through the case but continued to support a father, sibling and other family members as they dealt with unfathomable grief.

“They’re (officers) in very very close contact with the family. You’ve got to understand that this is members of their family that have been impacted both by the death, and now since, by the arrest,” Acting Superintendent Scott Knowles said on Monday.

“They’ll continue to work through this, the impact that this situation has had upon them. Especially, it’s another young person in that family that’s had to deal with the impact of losing a sibling as well as the impact of the mother not being there. There’s again mechanisms in place through our government funded partner programs that will support these people as well.”

Emergency services at the scene on the night Sophie was found. Picture: Supplied.

Support is also made available to any police officers that might need it.

“It’s challenging for every police officer that confronts these sorts of scenes,” Acting Supt Knowles said.

“They’re the same as any other member of the community. They’ve got a job to do and unfortunately that’s part of their job.

“As an organisation though we have a significant number of support mechanisms around our people to make sure that we do look after our people, to make sure that they have the opportunity to engage with psychiatrists, psychologists, or to access those support networks.

“It’s the same as with any person. These sorts of scenes are confronting, but they’ve got a job to do. They did it professionally.”

It’s that professionalism for which we can be most grateful. Most importantly, it afforded the victim, little Sophie Wang, the greatest possible dignity and respect.

“The work they did that day, you couldn’t ask for better,” Acting Supt Knowles said. “They located the suspect, they dealt with the scene, they gathered the evidence they needed to gather. Our investigators have stepped in, investigated the matter, and it will proceed before the courts.

“But I can’t understate the professionalism that they demonstrated in dealing with this traumatic event – and it has been traumatic on the community, as well as our people.”

Emmanuel College students leaving tributes to Sophie at the school. Picture: Nigel Hallett.

There were other beacons of light in the darkness that befell the community last week – the response of Sophie’s school, Emmanuel College, so well documented by my colleague Ann Wason Moore in these pages yesterday, is a standout example.

It was there in the care of ambulance officers at the scene. I’ve seen the same faces at other tragic incidents on many occasions – a reminder that there is an extraordinary group of people out there putting on those green uniforms and heading to the most difficult of jobs day in, day out, to help people in their hours of greatest need.

And it was very much there in the care and professionalism of the police officers who attended. Who did everything they could to ensure dignity and justice for little Sophie Wang, and to support her grieving family.

They are officers of a service that often appears under considerable pressure, but who deliver time and again for this community nonetheless.

A light that always shines brightly, even in the greatest dark.

Follow @keithjwoods

Originally published as Sophie Wang death: How police and ambos dealt with confronting scenes