Staci MartinA photograph, believed to be the final picture ever taken of heroic cop, PC Keith Palmer, has been shared in his honour.
The photograph was taken by American tourist, Staci Martin, of Wellington, Florida, just 45 minutes before he was fatally stabbed.
Martin was in London visiting her son on Wednesday, the day of the most recent London terror attack – an atrocity we now know was committed by 52-year-old Khalid Masood.
PAStaci told ABC News she was overwhelmed by Palmer’s generosity after she asked to take a picture with him, wearing his ‘funny hat’.
She said:
It’s my first time in London and I see his hat and I’m like ‘I have to take a picture of him with his hat’. I walked up to him and said ‘do you mind if I take a picture?’ He said ‘no problem’. He was really nice.
Just an hour later, Staci was in an Uber nearby with her husband and daughter when she heard news that Westminster was under lock-down after a terrorist rampage.
GettyShe heard there had been a shooting and saw a helicopter and emergency vehicles, immediately recognising PC Palmer from the photo released after it was confirmed he had been killed in the attack.
Staci shared the picture to her Facebook page, in the hopes Palmer’s family would get to see the photograph.
She captioned the image:
At 1:52 p.m., we were walking passed Parliament and I saw an officer. I liked his funny hat so I asked him if we could take a picture with me. He obliged. He was very polite.
At 2:40 he was fatally stabbed by the terrorist and died leaving behind a wife and children.
PAStaci believes it must be one of the final photographs ever taken of Keith, serving his country and keeping people safe, and feels ‘obligated’ to share it with his family, adding: “They can cut me out of it, but I just want to make sure they have that of him.”
Nearly 20,000 mourners have donated over £300,000 to Keith’s family on JustGiving, and in honour of his brave sacrifice, The Metropolitan Police have retired the PC’s shoulder number, 4157U, as a mark of respect.
FacebookPC Palmer, 48, was one of four victims killed on Wednesday.
Our thoughts are with the families of 43-year-old Aysha Frade and 54-year-old Kurt Cochran, as well as an unidentified 75-year-old male victim whose life support machine was turned off yesterday after he suffered fatal wounds.
FacebookLet their deaths not be an emblem of hate, but let us celebrate their lives.
RIP.
A former emo kid who talks too much about 8Chan meme culture, the Kardashian Klan, and how her smartphone is probably killing her. Francesca is a Cardiff University Journalism Masters grad who has done words for BBC, ELLE, The Debrief, DAZED, an art magazine you’ve never heard of and a feminist zine which never went to print.