A respected police officer told a colleague ‘everything would be ok’ just hours before she was found dead inside Port Adelaide’s police station.
A police commissioner’s inquiry and a coronial investigation have now been launched after the officer died at the station, in the city’s northwest, between 2pm and 3pm on Monday.
Daily Mail can reveal the female police officer was a mum of two and Aboriginal.
She married her wife, who is also a South n police officer, in late 2019.
Police have confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious but have not revealed the cause.
They have also requested media outlets not to publish the name or photos of the officer in question due to ‘cultural reasons’.
A respected police officer told a colleague ‘everything would be ok’ just hours before she was found dead inside a South n police station. Police have asked that the officer not be identified due to ‘cultural reasons’
The female police officer was found dead at Port Adelaide Police Station (pictured), in the city’s northwest, on Monday afternoon
Reports from eyewitnesses online claim officers at the station heard a loud bang within the building before they discovered her body.
Devastated friends and colleagues have paid tribute to the tribute to the officer who was nominated for ‘Aboriginal Person of the Year’ in 2012 for her work within the First Nations community.
She was remembered as a ‘beautiful person’ who had an ‘infectious, loud laugh’ which could be heard ‘right across the station’.
One workmate said the officer told her ‘It will be OK, bestie’ during one of their last conversations on Monday.
‘You said it a thousand times to me over the years,’ her colleague wrote.
‘It doesn’t feel like anything will ever be OK again.
‘I am shattered. I loved you so much, but you knew that.
‘I will miss you forever.’
Another colleague recalled how kind she was when she first arrived at Port Adelaide and was struggling to adjust.
After the officer invited her out to socialise, they quickly bonded over their similarities – their ‘terrible memories, distractibility and having both lost their fathers.
‘The first day I met you your kindness and caring nature shone through. You went out of your way to make us and the kids feel welcome with invitations to kindergym and the park,’ she said.
‘I loved working in the same office as you. Your laugh, the lolly jar addiction, your big caring heart and your cracking sense of humour, always taking the piss.
‘I loved your passion for your people. You were a proud First Nations woman and I loved your stories of your beloved ‘Gary’.
Colleagues have remembered the officer for her ‘infectious laugh’ and how she would always ‘meet people with a smile’
‘I learnt so much from you. You were such a light in my life.
‘I wish you knew how much you are loved.’
A third cop said the officer affectionately dubbed her and another colleague as the ‘angels’.
She said she would miss the officer’s bright bubbly face and hearing her say ‘well, well, well… if it isn’t the angels’ when she would walk by.
A former colleague added the officer’s ‘pain is now gone’ and she will never be forgotten by those she left behind.
‘Fly high and free sister in blue,’ she said.
‘Big hugs and love to your heartbroken family, RIP lovely.’
The tragedy has rocked the South n police community, which is still reeling just two months on from the alleged on-duty fatal shooting of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig and alleged hit-and-run death of SA Police Commissioner’s son, Charlie Stevens.
Counselling support services have been offered to the officer’s colleagues.
Acting Commissioner Linda Williams has announced the woman’s death will be subjected to a police inquiry as well as a coronial investigation.
‘The tragedy at Port Adelaide is something that will impact so many people – family and friends, but also the entire police family and indeed the wider community,’ South Police Association president Mark Carroll said.
‘Our colleague’s death will be investigated so that we can understand the cause of this devastating incident.
The state’s Police Minister Joe Szakacs also shared his grief in a statement.
‘My heartfelt condolences go to the family, friends and colleagues of the police officer,’ Mr Szakacs said.
‘Her tragic passing will be felt deeply, and grieved widely. I ask everyone to keep the police family in their thoughts.’
For confidential support 24/7, call Lifeline 13 11 14 or Beyond Blue 1300 22 4636