A service in honour of National Police Remembrance Day will be held at the Police Academy at Taperoo today, according to SA Police.
Hosted by SA Police Commissioner Grant Stevens, the service is held each year in memory of police officers killed in the performance of their duty in the region.
It will take place at 11am at the South Australia Police ‘Wall of Remembrance’ – located at the Police Academy, in memory of the past 61 fallen SA police officers.
The death of Foot Constable Albert Edward Ring at Glenelg 110 years ago will be highlighted in a speech delivered by Kevin Johnson, from the South Australian Police Historical Society, during the service.
Constable Ring, who joined the South Australia Police in August 1898, was shot by a man he had had previous dealings with, Joe Coleman, on Jetty Rd just after midnight on 28 March 1908 and died the following day.
The shooting of Constable Ring led to a major search for Coleman and he was eventually located near the Morphettville Racecourse.
He claimed he was drunk at the time of the shooting and did not know what he was doing, however Coleman was found guilty of murder and was hanged in Adelaide Gaol on 2 July 1908.
The death of Constable Ring, a father of one, saw a massive public response of sympathy and respect for Albert and his family, with an estimated 10,000 people lining the 15km route of his funeral procession from Glenelg to Payneham Cemetery where he is buried.
In today’s service, remembering the sacrifice of Constable Ring and other police, wreaths will be place at the memorial.
NOTE: Members of the public who wish to attend today’s service should be seated by 10.45am.
IMAGES from the State Library of South Australia and The Observer.
