New Code 9 Ambassador - Alex Prestney
Alex wishes to help enhance and be part of units that contribute to assisting members’ welfare and mental health, as he wishes to give back to the Victoria Police community, and help other members who may find themselves in difficulties, using his own experiences as policing in general can take a significant toll on members, in no matter part of the force they work within.
Alex Prestney is a current serving member of Victoria Police as a Senior Constable. He joined Victoria Police in 2016 and worked in areas such as Heidelberg, Boroondara and Prahran.
He has a strong passion for music, and has ever since high school, playing instruments such as drums, guitar and vocals. Alex his partner Rachel share a keen interest in all forms of music, sport and leisure. He is an avid Collingwood supporter, and his recent new addition to his family, Eliza, has been indoctrinated into the magpie army already. Alex and his little family, including their gorgeous Border Collie, Millie, have settled themselves in the suburb of Boronia, in Melbourne’s east.
Alex’s brother Josh Prestney followed in his younger brother’s footsteps, and joined Victoria Police in May 2019, and had the world at his feet, with a stellar career in the force ahead of him. However, this was not to be, as Josh was one of the four police members who were killed on the Eastern Freeway on the 22nd of April, 2020 during a routine traffic intercept, by a driver of a truck, affected by drugs and fatigue.
Josh and three other of his colleagues were also killed in the incident. Alex, his family and the wider community, were rocked by the loss, as Josh was only 28 years old, with a promising and bright future ahead of him, having only graduated five months previously. Navigating through the fog of grief, trauma and PTSD, Alex learned to walk alongside the beasts that haunted him, focusing on life ahead and his career with Victoria Police.
Through sport and music, Alex and his family show strength in carrying on without Josh, but always doing their best in whatever they do for their blue-eyed boy. Alex has also written and released music based on the new life without his brother and his mental health battles.
He has also set up the Run for Road Trauma event to begin in August 2023, running 550km from Mildura to Melbourne in Victoria to raise funds and awareness for victims of road trauma and for programs to better enhance road safety and driver behaviour.
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