Young NSW constable Mia Lay posthumously awarded national police service medal

Constable Mia Lay was twenty years old when she died. On September 25, her police vehicle crashed on a street in Redfern while she was responding to reports of a car theft. The driver, a 24-year-old male constable, survived the crash and was taken to Royal Prince Alfred Hospital. Lay did not.

At her funeral service, held at St Andrew's Cathedral in Sydney, NSW Police Commissioner Mal Lanyon announced that Lay had been posthumously awarded the national police service medal, along with the NSW Police Force medal for ethical and diligent service. The commissioner described her as a young officer who served with "professionalism, commitment and dedication." He spoke of her passion for soccer, her joy for life, her love for family, and the pride she found in policing. "You will not be forgotten," he said.

Lay had attested from the police academy in Goulburn in 2025, meaning she had been on the job for only sixteen months when she died. She was posted to the South Brisbane Area Command as a probationary constable doing general duties before being confirmed as a constable earlier in the year. She also completed a rotation at Eastern Beaches Area Command. In that brief time, she had already earned formal recognition from her duty officer and commander after locating and arresting an armed man in a public park in Redfern. "It was clear Constable Lay was going nowhere but forward in her policing career," Commissioner Lanyon said. "She demonstrated exceptional promise, embracing policing with enthusiasm and earned the respect of those around her."

Her father, Clem Lay, delivered the eulogy. He called his daughter his "firstborn flower" and "ultimate gift of joy," describing her as "a force of nature from the moment she came into the world." He said he had been apprehensive about her entering the police force, but that being a protector was in her nature. "Every single day Mia put on that uniform and carried the weight of the badge, she did out of overwhelming dedication to people she didn't even know," he said. Her mother, Tamara Evans, remembered her as full of life and said Mia had become one of her best friends. "Mia loved her family, she loved her dog Millie, she loved Dan, her partner, loved her friends, loved her job," Evans said.

Lay is survived by her parents, her partner Daniel Vasquez, and four siblings. Vasquez spoke at the service of their relationship, saying they had become inseparable after graduating from the police academy together. The couple had recently gone ring shopping, and he had planned to propose during an upcoming holiday to Fiji. "She often said to me, 'You know, I'm always going to say yes, so hurry up and ask me already.' I wish I had," he said. "Mia showed me a love I didn't know existed, the type of love you see in movies. She made me feel like the luckiest man on earth." He told her, "You were too good for this world, Mia. I love you more than life itself. I'll come find you when I get to heaven, my love."

The service included the laying and marching out of the NSW Police Force banner, followed by a police march along Bathurst Street. Mourners were given roses to place on Lay's casket, which was then marched out of the church and saluted by Commissioner Lanyon and others. Her death was marked again a week later during the annual National Police Remembrance Day. Lay's name will be added to the NSW Police Wall of Remembrance as the 285th officer memorialized there. Commissioner Lanyon said he would present the posthumous awards to Lay's family at an appropriate time in the near future.