The two young police officers, Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow, have been laid to rest during a police funeral in Queensland. The two police constables and local man Alan Dare were killed when Doomsday Preppers, Nathaniel, Gareth, and Stacey Train, set up an ambush and executed the two cops. Mister Dare was shot and killed when he was hit in the back. The three perpetrators were later killed in a shootout with tactical police. Two police officers, Randall Kirk and Keely Brough, survived the ordeal. Mr Kirk received a bullet graze while Ms Brough, who had only been in the force eight weeks, hid in the bushes.
According to the Daily Mail, Constable Arnold predicted his death. A letter was written by Matthew about eight years earlier when he was in Year 12. He wrote it for his parents and was read by Senior Sergeant Laura Harris at the funeral. It read:
I may be gone someday, soon perhaps, but just know I will never leave you. I will cherish every moment we’ve had in my heart forever.
Extract from Matthew Arnold’s letter – read by Senior Sergeant Laura Harris
Together They Served
Keely and Randall were both in attendance at the funeral in full uniform to pay their respects to their fallen colleagues. Rachel’s blue heeler, Archibald, was seen in the back of a police car, arriving to say his goodbyes to his human mum. Senior Sergeant Harris spoke of Constable Arnold’s kindness and how he was a man many looked up to. She mentioned how the police force had been a second family to him.
On the day of the siege, childcare worker Jodie Eckhart got a vibe that Rachel had been killed when Archibald, a constant fixture in the yard at the police house, started howling.
Rachel’s former partner said that “she would do anything for anyone.”
Anthony Albanese, the Australian Prime Minister, was also in attendance to pay his respects. A guard of honour comprised members of the New Zealand Police Force and the New York Police Department.
