Police Commissioner Peter Marshall today addressed a service in Porirua to mark the fifth anniversary of the death of Sergeant Derek Wootton.
Sergeant Wootton was laying road spikes in Titahi Bay to stop a car which was being driven by a fleeing offender when the vehicle hit and killed him on 11 July 2008.
Commissioner Marshall said: "Today's memorial is particularly poignant as recent events reinforce the dangers police may face in the course of their daily work to prevent crime in our communities and to hold the line against criminals.
"This week a series of events culminated in the tragic death of a young man on the Northern Motorway in Auckland and a fleeing driver incident in central Auckland resulted in attempts to ram a Police car and an officer."
Among those gathered at the Royal New Zealand Police College this morning were Sergeant Wootton's family, former colleagues, friends and community representatives.
Commissioner Marshall said it spoke volumes for the kind of man Sergeant Wootton was that his loved ones and colleagues had launched the Derek Wootton Memorial Trust in his memory to help others in the community.
He said: "It's absolutely fitting that this trust exists to benefit the Porirua community that Derek loved, and that it seeks to help young people avoid the kind of mistakes that lead to tragedies such as Derek's death or the recent events in Auckland."
Sergeant Wootton was the 27th officer to die as a result of criminal action since the establishment of New Zealand Police in 1886. In May 2009 Andrew Popo, a Mongrel Mob member with 83 previous convictions, was sentenced to 8 years 9 months' imprisonment, with a five-year minimum, for manslaughter.
The 29th and most recent death on duty was that of Senior Constable Len Snee, who was shot in Napier in May 2009.
ENDS
A photograph from this morning's service is available on the police website www.police.govt.nz
Issued by:
Grant Ogilvie, PNHQ media team
04 474 9476
