A Police Officer who worked hard to build rapport and trust among the LGBT+ community in Victoria, Australia has died suddenly.
LGBT+ Liaison Officer Brenton Erkens-Goss, a Senior Constable at Hamilton Police Station provided specialist support to the gay communities in his area, protecting them from hate crimes and family violence and building trust between the community and the police.
Mr. Erkens-Goss died by suicide on Friday, in the last few days of Pride Month.
In 2017, he represented Victoria Police at the inaugural World LGBT Conference for Criminal Justice Professionals in Amsterdam.
The Code 9 Foundation, a charity in Victoria which works with members of the emergency services suffering with mental health conditions, expressed their shock and sadness at the police officer’s sudden death and paid their respects by changing their logo to black.
In a statement on Social Media, the charity wrote: “Brenton Erkens-Goss was one of Victoria Police’s LGBTI Liaison Officers who worked hard to build rapport and trust with the LGBTI community and helped tackle prejudice-motivated crimes. RIP Brenton. You will be missed but never forgotten.”
