Vandals hit memorial

A 17-YEAR-OLD Heathwood man has been charged after investigations into the damage of a police memorial on Wadeville Rd, Pallara last week.

On August 7 at around 5pm a thick glass panel covering a photo as part of a memorial for fallen officer Sergeant Dan Stiller was smashed.

The teenager has been charged with one count of wilful damage and is due to appear in the Richlands Magistrates Court on August 28.

An officer at the Oxley Region Traffic Branch, Sgt Stiller, 33, was killed in 2010 after a wide-load truck he was escorting crashed and hit his motorcycle.

He left behind wife Julie and their then unborn son, Brodie.

As a lasting tribute to the memory of Sgt Stiller, a memorial was erected in March 2011 within a parcel of bushland at Heathwood.

District Officer for Oxley Police Detective Superintendent Mick Niland said the act was upsetting.

"It's an act of wanton vandalism towards a member of our service who was very much loved."

The news was delivered to Sgt Stiller's wife by Senior Sergeant Steven Peck.

"Dan was a champion bloke and an exceptional officer who was held in high regard by anyone who had the pleasure of meeting him," Sen-Sgt Peck said.

Parkinson Councillor Angela Owen-Taylor, who had worked with Sgt Stiller to tackle illegal trail bike riding in the Parkinson Ward, said the memorial would be restored as soon as possible, and security would be enhanced.

"The site has been a special place for Julie and her one-year-old son," she said.

"The architect and stonemason will be on site this week to examine the damage and prepare an assessment for restoration work of the memorial."

Anyone with information should contact Inala Police on 3737 5555 or call PoliceLink on 131444.