The partner of PS Matt Ratana has paid tribute to him following his sad and tragic death on Friday.
Su Bushby said:
“There aren’t really any words for how I am feeling right now about the loss of Matt; about losing someone I loved, and was so close to, in such a tragic manner.
“I know Matt touched many, many people’s lives with his friendliness, patience, kindness, enthusiasm and caring ways.
“I had the pleasure of sharing five years of my life with this lovely man – my gentle giant, with his infectious smile and a big heart. I think of him with tenderness and love.
“Matt was my partner, friend, confidant, support and soul mate.
“He will be greatly missed but never forgotten. Matt will always be in my head and in my heart. “
Also paying tribute to the popular police officer was Chief Inspector Phillip Palmer of Met Detention. He said:
“Matt was a very outgoing character and a supportive and kind colleague. Anyone who met him warmed to him straight away.
“I met him on his first day on Met Detention two years ago, and he proved to be a very dedicated officer. He often worked his rest days and filled in at other custody suites across London.
“He was well known across the Met, across different communities and nationalities, touching the lives of many in a positive way. He will be sorely missed.”
Community leaders and community members in Croydon have also paid tribute to PS Ratana in a touching video during which they offered their condolences to PS Ratana’s family and friends.
Before you go...
We need your help. As former emergency services & armed forces personnel, we pride ourselves on bringing you important, fast-moving and breaking news stories which are free from the negative bias which is often directed at the emergency services by some sections of the mainstream media.
One of the reasons we started 'Emergency Services News' was because we became tired of reading badly informed stories about the emergency services which seemed only ever to highlight negative aspects of the job.
We want to be the unheard voice of the remarkable men and women who serve in the emergency services, NHS and armed forces. And with around 500k page views each month, we are getting there!
As income from ads, the mainstay source of income for most publishers, continues to decline; we need the help of our readers.
And remember, if you have a service, product or job vacancy that you would like to promote to our large readership, then you can buy advertising space in our articles.
You can support emergency services news from as little as £1. It only takes a minute. Every contribution, however big or small, is vital for our future.
Please help us to continue to highlight the life-saving work of the emergency services, NHS and armed forces by becoming a supporter.
