‘Our hearts are broken’: family, force farewell officer
Farid Farid |
Donning blue and white checked ribbons, hundreds of mourners have packed a cathedral to farewell Constable Mia Lay after she was killed in a horrific crash.
The 20-year-old rookie cop had been with NSW Police for only 16 months when the patrol car she was a passenger in crashed into a tree, on September 25 in the Sydney suburb of Redfern, while en route to a job.
Dozens of uniformed police officers solemnly assembled outside St Andrew’s Cathedral in central Sydney on Wednesday, as her distraught parents and many dignitaries filed in, including NSW Premier Chris Minns and Police Minister Yasmin Catley.
A rendition of the spiritual Amazing Grace opened the sombre service for the junior constable, who was described as well-loved.
Choking back tears, Const Lay’s father Clem described her as his “first-born flower” who brought passion and lit up a room.
“My heart is completely shattered, the pain of losing her is devastating, a sudden blinding darkness has settled over me, her brothers and her sister,” he said.
“We are a family broken by her sudden absence.”
He wiped away tears as he praised her “grit and bravery” in her young policing career.
“You were taken from us far too soon,” Mr Lay said.
“I’d give anything to hold you one more time … our hearts are broken.”
NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon paid tribute to the “impressive, resilient and kind-hearted woman” and said she was well-loved by colleagues.
“She has left an enduring legacy which we honour here today,” he said.
“She demonstrated exceptional promise, embracing policing with enthusiasm and earned the respect of those around her.”
He listed a series of impressive achievements in her short law enforcement career, including arresting a man brandishing a rifle.
The commissioner announced Const Lay had been posthumously awarded the National Police Service Medal and the NSW Police Force Medal for Ethical and Diligence Service.
“You will not be forgotten,” Mr Lanyon said.
“You have left an enormous legacy which we will continue to honour.”
Dressed in full police uniform, Const Lay’s partner Daniel Vasquez recounted how they shared a connection at the police academy and graduated from the same class in May 2025.
“She put others before herself and was fiercely loyal to the people she loved,” he noted, adding he was planning to propose.
“She was my entire world.”
Her death was commemorated on National Police Remembrance Day on September 29 and was described as a dark day by Ms Catley.
In 2027, Const Lay’s name will be added to the National Police Memorial in Canberra, where 832 touchstones engraved on the memorial wall represent police lives lost since records began in 1803.
AAP