A respected police officer told a colleague 'everything was going to be fine' just hours before she was found dead at Port Adelaide police station.
A police commissioner's inquiry and a coronial inquiry have now been launched after the officer died at the station, in the north-west of the city, between 2pm and 3pm on Monday.
Daily Mail Australia can reveal the female police officer was a mother of two and Aboriginal.
She married her wife, who is also a South Australian police officer, in late 2019.
Police have confirmed the death is not being treated as suspicious, but have not released the cause.
They have also asked the media not to publish the name or photos of the officer in question for “cultural reasons.”
A respected police officer told a colleague that 'everything would be fine' just hours before she was found dead in a South Australian police station. Police have asked that the officer not be identified for 'cultural reasons'
The female police officer was found dead at Port Adelaide police station (pictured), in the city's northwest, on Monday afternoon
Online claim agent reports from eyewitnesses at the station heard a loud bang in the building before discovering her body.
Devastated friends and colleagues have paid tribute to the officer who was nominated for 'Aboriginal Person of the Year' in 2012 for her work within the First Nations community.
She was remembered as a 'beautiful person' with an 'infectious, loud laugh' that could be heard 'across the station'.
A colleague said the officer told her, “It's going to be okay, my friend,” during one of their last conversations on Monday.
“You've said it to me a thousand times over the years,” her colleague wrote.
'It doesn't feel like everything will ever be okay again.
'I'm exhausted. I loved you so much, but you knew that.
“I will miss you forever.”
Another colleague recalled how nice she was when she first arrived in Port Adelaide and struggled to adjust.
After the officer invited her for a friendly chat, they quickly bonded over their similarities: their “terrible memories, their distractibility, and the fact that they had both lost their fathers.”
'The first day I met you, your kindness and caring nature radiated. You went out of your way to make us and the children feel welcome with invitations to the kindergarten and the park,” she said.
'I loved working in the same office as you. Your laugh, your addiction to lollipop jars, your big caring heart and your great sense of humor, always pissing.
'I loved your passion for your people. You were a proud First Nations woman and I loved your stories about your beloved “Gary.”
Colleagues have remembered the officer for her “infectious laugh” and how she “always met people with a smile”
'I've learned so much from you. You were such a light in my life.
“I wish you knew how much you are loved.”
A third officer said the officer affectionately referred to her and another colleague as “angels.”
She said she would miss seeing the officer's beaming face and hearing her say “wellllll wellll wellll – if it's not the angels” as she walked by.
A former colleague added that the officer's pain is now gone and she will never be forgotten by those she left behind.
“Fly high and free sister in blue,” she said.
“Big hugs and love to your heartbroken family, RIP sweetheart.”
The tragedy has rocked the South Australian police community, which just two months after the alleged fatal on-duty shooting of Brevet Sergeant Jason Doig and the alleged hit-and-run death of the SA Police Commissioner's son Charlie Stevens it is staggering.
Support services have been offered to the officer's colleagues.
Acting Commissioner Linda Williams has announced that the woman's death will be subject to a police investigation and a coronial inquest.
“The Port Adelaide tragedy is something that will affect so many people – family and friends, but also the entire police family and indeed the wider community,” South Australia Police Association president Mark Carroll said.
“The death of our colleague will be investigated so that we can understand the cause of this devastating incident.
State Police Secretary Joe Szakacs also shared his sadness in a statement.
“My sincere condolences go out to the police officer's family, friends and colleagues,” Mr Szakacs said.
“Her tragic passing will be deeply felt and widely saddened. I ask everyone to keep the police family in their thoughts.”
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