The death of a young constable in a police car accident at Redfern is a reminder of the inherent dangers and the risks facing those who sign up to protect the people of NSW.
Every day, police officers put themselves in harm’s way.
Nearly two and a half years ago, the unforgettable footage of NSW Police Inspector Amy Scott running towards danger to confront the knife-wielding Bondi Junction killer, shoot him and perform CPR on him while awaiting back-up, lifted our hearts.
Now the death of Constable Mia Lay, 20 – who joined NSW Police just 16 months ago – has broken our hearts. She was travelling in a marked vehicle with its lights and siren on when it crashed into a tree at Redfern in inner Sydney early on Friday morning.
When these two women started their shifts on their fateful days, they had no idea what lay ahead. Their heroism and sacrifice capture the risks taken every day by emergency personnel, who put their lives on the line for the safety of the community.
While the exact circumstances of the Redfern early morning crash remain unclear, Mia Lay was a passenger in a police car driven by a 24-year-old male constable who has been admitted to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital and is currently in a stable condition with leg and facial injuries.
The actions of police are often, and rightly, scrutinised in NSW: with power comes responsibility. However, it is also a job that requires enormous self-sacrifice; officers must place themselves between danger and the community, as demonstrated all too starkly last December when two gunmen opened fire on a Hanukkah gathering in Bondi, killing many, and it fell to a handful of police officers to stop them.
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon, who returned early from annual leave to lead the force on such a dark day, said the two young constables were responding to a report of a stolen vehicle in Glebe. He thanked Mia Lay, who was based at Redfern Police Station, for her courage, and said she would not be forgotten.
“She showed exceptional promise and was well-loved through the South Sydney Police Area Command,” Lanyon said. “She would have been an outstanding police officer, and to lose her life, both in its prime and just at the infancy of becoming a police officer, is a terrible tragedy.”
This willingness of NSW Police to face danger for the sake of others in their daily lives represents humanity at its finest and should inspire us all.
The Herald mourns the death and salutes the life of Mia Lay.
Her sense of duty, service and commitment also points directly to the huge debt we owe to the emergency personnel of NSW Police, and the dark and forbidding territory that goes with their job. Officers live with the daunting knowledge that any day they will be called upon to put themselves in harm’s way. Unlike most, they stand fast.
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