The crowd at the top of the sunny hill had fallen silent before Sergeant Lisa Thompson, arm wrapped around her young son, made her way through the sea of blue.

The boy’s mother wiped away tears as he placed a floral wreath on the ground in honour of his stepfather Neal Thompson, 59, and his colleague, Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, who were gunned down in the line of duty on a remote property in Porepunkah last month.

Every year, National Police Remembrance Day marks one of the most sombre and significant days in the policing calendar as a way to pay tribute to those killed on the job.

On Monday morning, dozens of uniformed officers marched in their honour.

But this year, the ongoing manhunt for alleged double police murderer Dezi Freeman, who opened fire on the two officers while exe

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