00:00Known as Tomo to his family and friends, Detective Leading Senior Constable Neil Thompson was
00:07today remembered as kind and loyal, someone who would give you the shirt off his back,
00:13as well as for his passion for the great outdoors, for hunting and fishing, as well as for his
00:17beloved Essendon Football Club.
00:19Now, last Friday, Neil Thompson was meant to retire.
00:23Instead today, he was farewelled by thousands of his family and friends, as well as fellow
00:28officers, as well as the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, and the Victorian Premier, Jacinta
00:32Allen, after 38 years of service.
00:35His sisters, Lois and Diane, described Mr Thompson as always getting up to mischief as a child,
00:41a golden boy who would always be their big brother, whilst the Chief Commissioner, Mike
00:45Bush, said that Mr Thompson was a highly regarded and highly respected member of the force who
00:51had been robbed of his retirement, while his partner, Sergeant Lisa Thompson, simply said
00:56that Mr Thompson was the love of her life.
01:01He taught me how to love without fear, and how to be brave when I'm scared.
01:07And Jaime, I am so grateful you did, because I am scared.
01:13I don't want to live life without you, and I don't want to finish our dreams on my own.
01:19Now, hundreds of police officers lined this road outside Victoria Police Academy as part
01:26of the formal procession and farewell to Neil Thompson, while flags at police stations across
01:32the state were lowered to half-mast.
01:34In the crowd also were the parents of Vadim Devas Hotar, the other officer killed in last
01:40month's shooting attack.
01:41In his tribute to Mr Thompson, the Chief Commissioner, Mike Bush, acknowledged that tomorrow would be
01:46two months since their deaths.
01:48Neil Thompson has posthumously been awarded the Victoria Police Star in recognition and
01:53given to officers who have been killed or seriously injured in the line of duty.
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