EYRE FAMILY .01 At Damian’s graduation from the Victoria Police Academy in 1988, Frank Eyre stands beside his son Damian, who is holding his young nephew Chris. .02 Constable Chris Eyre with his grandfather, Frank and father, Daryl.
“It makes me very proud that Chris is joining Victoria Police. It’s become a family tradition now,” he said. “Chris was two years old when Damian passed away and I was working at the Melton Crime Investigation Bureau. “I thought about leaving Victoria Police at the time, but as I went on I thought it wasn’t the job that did that to Damian. People in other occupations don’t always come home from their jobs, not just police. “When it happened, I said things happen for a reason, something good will come out of it. Now, look at all the lives that have been saved through the Blue Ribbon Foundation.” After the Walsh Street shootings the Tynan Eyre Foundation was established and later became part of the Blue Ribbon Foundation, which raises funds for new and
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Remembering Walsh Street On 12 October, 1988, constables Damian Eyre and Steven Tynan were on nightshift at Prahran Police Station and assigned to the Prahran 311 divisional van. About 4.50am they attended at Walsh Street, South Yarra following a report that a suspicious vehicle had been abandoned. When they arrived, both police were checking the vehicle when the offenders approached and shot them at close range. Const Eyre, who had been shot in the back, was then involved in a struggle with one of the offenders who removed his handgun and shot him again. The offenders fled with Const Eyre's weapon. Four men were charged but were acquitted in 1991.
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“ It makes me very proud that Chris is joining Victoria Police. It’s become a family tradition now,” Ldg Sen Const Eyre said. improved hospital facilities in the names of police who have died in the line of duty. “Walsh Street changed the way all police do their jobs. We changed the way we trained with Operation Beacon and then the Operational Tactics and Safety Training was set up,” Ldg Sen Const Eyre said. As Const Eyre completes his final months of training, he remembers growing up in a policing family. “Both my parents either were or had been members of Victoria Police so I didn’t know any different. One thing I remember is, I was always really proud to be able to say that my dad was a police officer,” he said. “Before I joined I was working for a company making propellant and explosives for the Australian Defence Force and I have wanted to join policing for as long as I remember.
“My grandfather used to say that he got up every day looking forward to going to work. I want to feel the same about my job and I want my two sons, Jordan and Cooper, to also be proud of what I do.” No-one is more pleased with Const Eyre than grandfather Frank, who proudly showed photos of a two-year-old Chris to his squad mates recently. “I’m absolutely rapt that Chris will be a policeman,” Mr Eyre said. “Particularly after the loss of Damian, that could have deterred him, but Chris wanted to join, he has persisted and he has made it. “He will make a good policeman. He understands what policing is all about from growing up with police and he knows it can be testing at times and that it is a completely different lifestyle.” With many more Eyres growing up it is likely more will join the ranks. “My oldest grandson, Chris’ son, who just turned four the other day, told Chris he wants to join too,” Ldg Sen Const Eyre said.
POLICELIFE SPRING 2014
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