VICTORIA Police have paid tribute to a former Newcastle man who was one of the four officers killed in a tragic truck crash in Melbourne on Wednesday.
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Constable Glen Humphris, who only graduated from the police academy last month, had studied exercise and sports science at the University of Newcastle.
In a statement, Victoria Police said Constable Humphris had been working at Return to Work in Newcastle where he met his partner of four years, Todd. The pair moved to Melbourne, where Mr Humphris applied to join the police force in 2019.
Born in Gosford, Constable Humphris had started his working life as an apprentice carpenter before becoming a personal trainer. After completing his degree in Newcastle, he obtained a Masters in Exercise Physiology at the University of Sydney.
Victoria Police said he had "performed extremely well" at the academy, narrowly missing out on his squad's highest academic achiever award.
"He enjoyed the food and bar lifestyle of Melbourne and he continued to have a passion for exercise, competing in triathlons and maintaining a high level of fitness. His squad mates said he genuinely wanted to help people, had a great sense of community and genuine empathy for everyone - victim and offender alike. Glen is remembered as being very level-headed, caring and supportive with a great sense of humour and had the ability to make light of any situation to calm people."
Constable Humphris, Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constable Josh Prestney were killed when the truck drove through them while they were dealing with a Porsche driver who had tested positive to a roadside drug test on Wednesday.
As they stood in the emergency lane on the Eastern Freeway in Kew, a refrigerated truck veered to the left and hit them at 100km/h.
The Porsche driver, Melbourne mortgage broker Richard Pusey, escaped unharmed and was arrested on Thursday morning.
