A week has passed since Constable Mia Lay was killed in a high-speed crash in Sydney’s inner south, the first death of an on-duty officer in more than a decade. Commissioner Mal Lanyon, who returned early from leave after learning of the tragedy in the early hours of September 25, said the loss of a young officer with a bright future had a deep personal impact.
“To lose one of my officers in a circumstance like that, someone who was going about doing her duty to protect the community, has an impact on me,” Lanyon told the Herald in a wide-ranging interview on the anniversary of his swearing-in as NSW’s 24th police commissioner.
Lanyon’s first year was already fraught with major challenges. Two and a half months after his appointment, father and son Sajid and Naveed Akram opened fire on the Bondi Jewish community’s annual Chanukah by the Sea festival in December last year, killing 15 innocent revellers and injuring dozens more, including two police officers. It was Australia’s worst terror attack.
“I think innocence was lost in Sydney and NSW through Bondi,” Lanyon said, recalling the frantic hours after the shooting. “The overall impact that had on the community and on my officers is something we are still dealing with.”
Alongside the terror attack, Lanyon has confronted the deaths of innocent people wrongly targeted in Sydney’s escalating gangland conflicts, as well as the ongoing challenge of recruiting and retaining police officers. In policing circles, many regard his first year as among the hardest any commissioner has faced.
Lanyon said losing a member of what he calls the “blue family” often hits the hardest. “Losing her, someone so young with such a bright future, obviously has an impact,” he said.