Police join national ride
Wimmera Superintendent Paul Margetts and Acting Senior Sergeant Simon Grant will be among hundreds of motorbike enthusiasts embarking on a memorial ride on Friday.
The 10th anniversary Wall to Wall Ride to Remember is an annual event that honours the memory of fallen police officers and raises money for police charity organisations.
Starting at 8am from the Victoria Police Memorial Site in Melbourne, riders will travel to Canberra to assemble with policing members from across Australia at the National Police Memorial on Saturday.
Mr Margetts said the ride was an emotional trip for all participating riders and policing members.
He said this year’s event would be particularly difficult because it marked one year since Senior Sergeant Vic Kostiuk’s death, an officer who died on the ride last year.
“For me, it’s a really emotional journey where I get the opportunity, while I’m on the ride, to think about colleagues who have lost their lives at work, and also think about their families who I know quite well,” he said.
“This year will be especially emotional.
“It will be the first anniversary of the death of Senior Sergeant Vic Kostiuk who died on the ride last year, so we plan to stop along
the way on Friday and have a memorial service on the side of the road.”
As part of the event, a police legatee will escort a hand-made baton transporting the names of fallen police members.
Mr Margetts said these names would be recorded on the National Police Memorial wall at the end of the ride.
“We escort a baton from Victoria and that happens in every jurisdiction,” he said.
“It’s so important for the families to continue the memory of their loved one. The baton is carried by a police legatee, last year that was Abbi Scherger, one of the children of a police member.
“It’s quite a proud moment for all of us to escort that family member and the baton all the way to Canberra, and for their name to be added to the wall – very unfortunately. It really is a very emotional trip for all of us.”
Mr Margetts said Victoria Police Legacy, a charity supporting the families of officers killed in the line of duty, would be one of the key recipients of fundraising money.
He encouraged anyone interested in donating to do so online at www.walltowallride.com.