Met police officers across London today held a minute’s silence to mark the killing of Sergeant Matt Ratana.
More than 30,000 staff paused at 11am to pay tribute to Sgt Ratana, 54, who was shot by a handcuffed suspect in Croydon Custody Centre last Friday.
Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick stood with colleagues outside the Met’s Empress State building in west London, saying his “senseless murder” had strengthened her officers’ determination to fight violent crime.
She praised New Zealand-born Sgt Ratana as a “fine skipper” and a “real gentle giant” with a big heart, adding that her force was “still hurting” from his loss.
Today Dame Cressida wrote for the Evening Standard that she had been “touched” by the public support. “When tough times come along, we don’t flinch. Through the shock, grief and sadness, a calm determination to carry on, as Matt would have wanted, has shone through.”
Alleged killer Louis De Zoysa, 23, is in a critical condition in hospital after reportedly shooting himself after the attack.
