It was March 2016 when Wollongong Police Superintendent Chris Craner received the midnight phone call he'd hoped to never get.
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"I am one of the unfortunate commanders in the state that has had that phone call at midnight telling me one of my officers has been killed while on duty," he said at the launch of this year's Wall to Wall Ride for Remembrance.
"There's no training for this type of thing, you just get a phone call saying an officer has gone radio silence. Then I got a phone call back to say they had found the officer and he was deceased in the car."
The officer, Sergeant Geoffrey Richardson, was killed while driving at high speed to deploy road spokes ahead of a police chase at Allandale, in the Hunter Valley, when his car crashed into a tree.
Superintendent Craner, then stationed at Port Stephens, quickly jumped out of bed and went to deliver the news to Sgt Richardson's wife.
Over the coming months he witnessed the vital role Police Legacy - which will receive fundraising from Saturday's annual remembrance motorcycle ride - plays in supporting police and their families.
"These events are an emotional time for the police involved and an emotional time for me," he said.
Each year, commissioners from each police jurisdiction carry a baton which has a hollow centre to allow for the name of any fallen members to be carried on the ride.
Launching the ride, Lake Illawarra Chief Inspector Paul Allman said there would sadly be a name in the baton this year.
Probationary Constable Tim Proctor, who worked in Liverpool, was killed on Heathcote Road in February, when his car was hit by another motorist who had crossed to the wrong side of the road.
"The event is all about remembering just how dangerous this occupation can be... and we just want to welcome members of the community to come along and have a look and help us pay respects to our fallen comrades," Insp Allman said.
The ride is on this Saturday and the Southern Region contingent will start from Kiama police station at 9am.
About 200 people including retired police officers, current serving police officers and learner riders will ride from Kiama through the Southern Highlands and Goulburn before arriving at the National Police Memorial in Canberra in the afternoon.
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Kate McIlwain
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
For more than a decade, I've helped the Illawarra Mercury set the news agenda across the region. Currently I'm the paper's health reporter - covering the stories of Illawarra workers and residents in the wake of a global pandemic and at a time where our health systems are stretched to the limit.
