A dead police officer, his enraged wife, and the alleged “cover up” she claims attempted to bury the truth along with him.
Senior Constable Brett Forte died in a firefight and was hailed a “hero” for defending his partner against a crazed killer, sacrificing his life to save hers.
In an explosive 7NEWS Spotlight exclusive, which will air this Sunday on Channel 7, his partner with him on the day he died and his grieving wife put their police careers on the line to expose a “broken” culture that they claim betrayed him and bullied them.
Following a year-long investigation by reporter Denham Hitchcock, Forte’s enraged police officer widow, Susan Forte, accuses the Queensland Police Service, as well as a coronial inquest into her husband’s 2017 shooting death, of doing everything in their power to keep her quiet about the operational errors she claims could have saved him.
Susan was the domestic violence liaison officer for Bernadette, the former partner of the gunman Ricky Maddison, in a cruel twist of fate. Maddison’s violent relationship culminated in him confronting his ex with a handgun on her front porch. It propelled him to the top of the wanted list.
Toowoomba police were out in force to find him, but it just so happened that Brett Forte and his partner Catherine Nielsen were on his tail during a highway pursuit that led into the bush.
What they didn’t realise was that Maddison had planned to ambush police with a lethal arsenal, including a fully automatic assault rifle, by luring their patrol car down a remote dirt road and trapping them in a hail of bullets.
After a 21-hour siege, the violent and paranoid Maddison would flee the scene to a nearby stronghold, where he would be shot dead by tactical police.
Forte’s memory deserves better from a force his loved ones say is now intent on burying its mistakes with him, leaving behind three children, devastated parents, and heartbroken siblings and friends.
