Melbourne landmarks turn blue to honour the four police officers killed in Eastern Freeway tragedy
Melbourne will again be bathed in blue lights as a tribute to the four police officers that tragically lost their lives on the Eastern Freeway.
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Melbourne will be bathed in blue lights again on Thursday night to mark the first anniversary of the Eastern Freeway tragedy that claimed the lives of four police officers.
Thursday marks the one-year anniversary of the deaths of Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney.
The group were killed after they stopped to pull over Richard Pusey, who was clocked speeding at 149km per hour in his black Porsche. He was urinating on the side of the road and avoided being hit.
Mohinder Singh, the truck driver responsible for their deaths, was last week jailed for 22 years in the Supreme Court of Victoria.
Acting Premier James Merlino confirmed a number of buildings across Melbourne would be lit up in blue on April 22 to honour the fallen officers.
“We’ve been planning to do just that, to light up as many buildings and bridges in blue to honour the lives of those four police officers who lost their lives in the most tragic and devastating of circumstances,” he said on Tuesday morning.
“A number of buildings have been identified that will light up in blue to honour those four police officers, their families and Victoria Police across the board.”
Mr Merlino said the Bolte Bridge, Parliament House and other government buildings across the city would be some of the landmarks bathed in blue.
The Acting Premier also said it was a great idea for Victorians to light up their own homes in blue to pay tribute to the four officers and Victoria Police, whose members “put their lives on the line to keep us safe”.
Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt also welcomed the tribute.
“It’s an extremely supportive gesture and absolutely happy because our members drew immense support from it in the days after the tragedy,” he told 3AW.
“We would encourage all members of the community and indeed others to pause with us on that day to remember the first anniversary.”
Sergeant Gatt said the Police Association headquarters would certainly be lit up blue, along with a number of other police buildings.
The campaign to turn Melbourne landmarks blue, which is led by 3AW presenter Neil Mitchell, has also approached the City of Melbourne and the MCG to get involved.
Major landmarks across Melbourne, including the MCG, Flinders Street station and Federation Square were lit up in blue in the days following the tragedy last year in tribute to the four officers.
Originally published as Melbourne landmarks turn blue to honour the four police officers killed in Eastern Freeway tragedy
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