By Jessica McSweeney, Riley Walter and Nick Newling
A man has been charged with the alleged vandalism of a memorial wall dedicated to NSW Police officers killed in the line of duty.
Police Commissioner Karen Webb said a 43-year-old man was arrested at Glebe light rail station on Monday afternoon following a “very swift” investigation.
The Police Wall of Remembrance in The Domain was defaced with the words “evil” and “dogs” etched above the names of the fallen police officers.
Vandalism on the New South Wales police memorial wall.Credit: Nick Moir
Police believe the wall was vandalised about 3.15am on Saturday. The damage was discovered by police during Sunday’s Australia Day celebrations.
The man was taken to Day Street police station where he was on Monday night charged with destroying or damaging property and committing an offensive act in or on a war memorial or interment site. He was refused police bail to appear in Downing Centre Local Court on Tuesday.
The commissioner said it was too early to speculate on the motive for the attack or whether the accused was responsible for any other vandalism, but expressed concerns that people were “expressing their hate in very visible ways”.
A 43-year-old man has been arrested over the alleged vandalism.Credit: NSW Police
“I’m very pleased with the swift action to arrest him for this awful [alleged] crime,” Webb said.
Speaking on 2GB radio, Premier Chris Minns said the vandalism was “disgusting” and an affront to those killed in the line of duty, including Constable Glenn McEnallay, who was shot dead by a group of offenders after a police chase in 2002.
Also commemorated among the hundreds of names is Curtis Cheng, a civilian police employee who was shot dead outside NSW Police’s Parramatta headquarters by a 15-year-old in 2015. The force’s headquarters were renamed in Cheng’s honour in 2016.
“I’m just so appalled by it, I can’t believe someone could be so heartless,” Minns said.
The damage was above the names of fallen officers. Credit: Nine News
The vandalism of the “sacred site” was the “lowest of acts”, Police Minister Yasmin Catley said.
Pressed on the recent spate of antisemitic attacks in Sydney, Catley defended the number of arrests made over the incidents, calling for “social harmony”.
“We use the words, but we actually have to be kind to each other,” she said.
“We can’t continue to have this division in our community. We’ve been such a successful, culturally diverse community for so long.”
Webb praised the efforts of the strike force’s dozens of investigators, whom she said had relocated to a bigger headquarters because of the team’s size.
“I am certainly aware that they are making very good progress and as soon as we have an update we will make those announcements but I’m very pleased with the way the investigation is going,” Webb said.
Police will work with City of Sydney council to repair the damage and are asking for anyone with footage of the incident to come forward. It is not yet known whether the memorial can be repaired or will need to be replaced, Webb said.
The memorial wall was dedicated in 1999, and police and dignitaries gather there each year on September 29 to commemorate National Police Remembrance Day.
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