Memorial service to be held for Met officer Matt Ratana who was killed in the line of duty

A memorial service is to be held for Met officer Matt Ratana who was killed in the line of duty.

One year on from his murder, the Metropolitan Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick has announced a special memorial service will be held in November.

The event will take the place of the full force funeral, which the Met was unable to hold due to Covid-19 restrictions.

On Friday, September 25 2020, 54-year-old custody Sergeant Ratana was on duty at the Met’s Custody Centre in Windmill Lane, Croydon, when he was fatally shot in the chest as he prepared to search a handcuffed suspect.

Louis De Zoysa, 24, has been charged with Ratana’s murder and appeared at a brief hearing at the Old Bailey earlier this month.

He is accused of discharging four bullets in a holding cell at Croydon custody centre during the alleged incident last year, in which he was also injured.

One year later, at 11am on Saturday, police officers and staff across the Met held a minute of silence to remember Sergeant Ratana.

Earlier this year, the Met Commissioner also welcomed a litter of seven new-born puppies who were named the ‘Ratana Litter’ in his memory.

Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick said: “Matt has very much been in our thoughts over the last year, as we grieve for him, but also as we celebrate his life.

“His legacy lives on with his family and friends from the Met, rugby, and beyond.

“When Matt was killed, Covid-19 meant the Met was not able to mark his death with a force funeral in the way that we would have wished.

“I said at the time that when restrictions were no longer in place, we would hold a full memorial service that would allow us to come together in Matt’s memory.

“For many people the anniversary of Matt’s murder and National Police Memorial Day will be a time of particular sadness and reflection.

“We will never forget all of our fallen colleagues and will remember and honour them forever.”