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They were of different generations. And in the end, they served in different countries.
But Matiu Ratana and Matthew Hunt will be honored at a special service in Wellington on Tuesday.
Ratana’s death in London on Friday was acutely felt in New Zealand, Police Association President Chris Cahill said Monday.
Metropolitan Police
Matiu (Matt) Ratana, 54, was shot at the Croydon Custody Center in London.
That wasn’t just because of Sergeant Ratana’s birthplace, but because New Zealand police could relate to the dangers Ratana faced at work, he said.
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Ratana, 54, was shot while taking a suspect to a custody center in Croydon, south London.
Chris McKeen / Stuff
A police officer guarding Eden Park stands in front of a screen displaying a tribute to the murdered officer Matthew Hunt.
Cahill said policing in many countries had common themes, and New Zealand officials could easily imagine finding themselves in the same position as Ratana.
“This is not just a job or a career, it is a vocation.”
The Police Association was preparing to commemorate the National Police Remembrance Day on Tuesday.
NZ POLICE
The funeral of murdered police officer Matthew Hunt took place in Eden Park in July.
Cahill said Ratana’s death and Hunt’s murder in West Auckland in June would add further shock to the ceremony in Porirua, north of Wellington.
The couple would be honored at the service beginning at 10.50am at the Royal New Zealand Police College.
Other police officers killed on the job in New Zealand would also be remembered.
EAST GRINSTEAD RFC / Supplied
Sergeant Matt Ratana was also a rugby coach in London.
A symbol of the ceremony is a huia feather with gallons and a small notch that signifies the lost.
Hunt was the first New Zealand police officer to be killed on duty since 2009.
Despite Britain’s much larger population and higher homicide rates, murders of police officers in that country are also rare.
Ratana was the first officer to be shot dead in the UK since 2012.
Originally from Hawke’s Bay, Ratana went to school at Palmerston North Boys’ High and served as a police officer in Auckland in the early 2000s.
A 23-year-old man accused of shooting Ratana was in hospital Monday with serious injuries.
Cahill said the Police Association had received many tributes to Ratana on social media and via email.
In turn, Cahill said the association had approached Ratana’s whānau through the Police Federation of England and Wales.
“Someone said he was one of those people you thought you knew. She had that charming, friendly, attractive smile. “
