National Police Remembrance Day services around Australia pay tribute to fallen officers

ABC NEWS (Australia)

Three police officers shot dead in the line of duty this year are being honoured as part of National Police Remembrance Day services across Australia.

Transcript

00:00Flowers laid by grieving loved ones as Victoria Police gathered to remember their own.

00:07The families of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neil Thomson and Senior Constable Vadim Devars-Hotar

00:14watched on as the force marked Police Remembrance Day.

00:19The two officers were gunned down in Port Punkah last month, their names now etched in Victoria Police's honour wall.

00:26Those tragic losses remind us of the uncertainty and should I say the inherent dangers that policing brings with us.

00:38Every police family deserves to see their loved one come home.

00:45The two men are among 178 Victoria Police officers who have been killed in the line of duty since the force was established,

00:52with current and former officers from across the country paying their respects.

00:56We've all got blue blood and when one of our people die, when one of our people are killed, then we all feel it.

01:02It's days like this that we really understand that we are a policing family.

01:06In ovens, just minutes from Port Punkah, officers pause to remember the slain officers as the hunt for their alleged killer appears to slow.

01:15Just 200 police officers remain dedicated to the search, down from close to 500.

01:211400 tips with information have also not panned out.

01:25We have searched over 40 square kilometres, by foot, by air, to do our best to understand where the person responsible is.

01:35And we will not give up.

01:37In Canberra, the names of Neil Thompson and Vadim de Vaz Hotar were a notable omission from the National Wall of Remembrance,

01:43and won't be included until next year, with just Tasmanian officer Keith Smith added to the wall.

01:49The constable, who was shot dead in June while serving a warrant, was also honoured in Hobart today.

01:55Service and sacrifice etched in history as colleagues and families grieve.

02:00We will remember. We will remember. Hasten the dawn.

02:06Hasten the dawn.

02:18Hasten the dawn.

02:19Hasten the dawn.

02:25Hasten the dawn.

02:27Olar fight was lost.

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