THE tragic death of PSNI officer Constable Philippa Reynolds in a road crash in Londonderry at the weekend is a poignant reminder of the dangers members of our police service face on a daily basis.
The crash involved a stolen vehicle which struck the PSNI car in which 27-year-old Philippa was a back seat passenger and she sustained fatal injuries.
Her death has deeply shocked the tightly-knit police family in Northern Ireland.
Police deaths here are now a much rarer occurrence than they were during the 30-year period of the Troubles, when 301 RUC officers were murdered in a vicious Provisional IRA campaign, but a fatality among those gallantly upholding law and order on our streets still produces a numbness and shock that reverberates beyond a stricken family.
Constable Reynolds will be buried after a service of thanksgiving in Mossley Methodist Church in Newtownabbey today when PSNI colleagues will get the opportunity to pay tribute to a friend they consider to have been a popular, highly efficient officer.
Last night, Philippa’s parents Mervyn and Dorothy paid tribute, in a televised interview, to a loving daughter who thoroughly enjoyed her exacting role in the PSNI.
They echoed the sentiments of Chief Constable Matt Baggott and her commanding officer Chief Superintendent Stephen Cargin, who both said Philippa typified the officers who are on 24/7 duty in all situations and potential dangers.
Philippa was a young woman in the front line of policing, serving the wider community to the best of her ability. She was an ideal role model in our society.
