‘Nothing prepares you’: Cop remembers tragic phone call ahead of Police Legacy ride
This weekend, officers from across the state will take part in the Wall to Wall: Ride for Remembrance as a gesture of police solidarity, to honour officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, while raising funds to support the work of Police Legacy.
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In 2016, Wollongong Police Superintendent Chris Craner received a call no police officer ever wants.
The call was to inform him that one of his officers died on the job.
“There’s nothing to prepare you … One minute I’m in bed, everyone’s asleep and the next phone rings,” he said.
“There’s been an incident, an officer has gone radio silence. Five minutes later I got a call back. They’d found the officer deceased in his car.”
The officer was Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson. His police car had crashed into a tree during a police chase in the Hunter Valley just after 11pm on March 5.
From that moment, Superintendent Craner saw first-hand the incredible work Police Legacy do for families of fallen police officers.
“We all have busy lives and sometimes we try to remember and do as much as we can, but when we do forget, that’s when Legacy kicks in,” he said.
This weekend, officers from across the state will take part in the Wall to Wall: Ride for Remembrance as a gesture of police solidarity, to honour officers who have lost their lives in the line of duty, while raising funds to support the work of Police Legacy.
Starting in Kiama and finishing at the National Police Memorial in Canberra, the ride will give police officers the opportunity to remember those officers who have tragically lost their lives.
This year’s event will pay particular tribute to the late Probationary Constable Tim Proctor who died following a crash at Heathcote Road earlier this year.
Lake Illawarra Police Inspector Paul Allman launched the eighth annual ride on Monday morning, which aims to raise both awareness and funds for Police Legacy.
“Legacy is that body that kicks in when we suffer a tragedy, when we lose one of our members,” he said.
“[The ride] is about remembering just how dangerous this occupation is, but it’s also a bit of time out where we can sit in a beautiful location down at Canberra and remember our fallen comrades.”
Inspector Allman said the memorial service in Canberra was always an emotional time for police officers, as well as their families.
“As you sit down there you are reflecting on those close comrades you’ve lost and its just the chance to take some time out and think about those people,” he said.
The NSW Police Force has invited the community to see them off at Kiama on Saturday morning, to support not only the officers that have lost their lives, but their families, friends and current serving officers.
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