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Brett Forte inquest live updates: Probe into death of Queensland Police officer begins

Updated April 12, 2021 — 4:54pm,first published 12:00pm

4.54pm on Apr 12, 2021

Day one done

Andrew Beveridge’s evidence concludes day one of the coronial inquest into the deaths of Queensland police officer Senior Constable Brett Forte and his killer, Ricky Maddison.

There were two witnesses today: Mr Beveridge, who was a friend of Maddison, and Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood, who led the internal police investigation into the two deaths.

A full wrap of today’s evidence will follow.

Otherwise, see you tomorrow, when five witnesses are expected to testify.

These include civilian Adam Byatt, Gatton police officer-in-charge Sergeant Shane Fitzpatrick, Darling Downs Tactical Crime Squad Senior Constable Andre Thaler, as well as two further Gatton officers — Senior Sergeant Rowland Browne and Senior Constable Brad Smart.

4.47pm on Apr 12, 2021

Gunman’s meeting with Brett Forte on fatal day almost never happened

Gunman Ricky Maddison almost travelled to the Gold Coast with his friend on the day he killed Senior Constable Brett Forte, but changed his mind at the last minute and stayed in Gatton.

Andrew Beveridge, Maddison’s friend, tells the inquest they were in the car and about to leave Mr Beveridge’s property when Maddison changed his mind.

Andrew Beveridge, a friend of gunman Ricky Maddison, leaves Toowoomba Courthouse on Monday, after giving evidence.Toby Crockford

“I was trying to get him to come with me [down to my boat on the Gold Coast] … to try to get him out of a dark mood,” Mr Beveridge says.

Mr Beveridge says he stopped the car at the end of his driveway to take a phone call or check a message and by the time he had done so, Maddison had got out and did not get back in.

The day before, Mr Beveridge says, Maddison showed him six to eight guns he had in his ute and made a startling statement, believed to be in reference to police.

“He said: ‘It’s only when I become big news, they are going to look into the case and what they did to me’,” Mr Beveridge recounts Maddison telling him.

Mr Beveridge tells the inquest Maddison said he found a police camera on or near his property, linked it to his laptop and moved it so he could see “when the police were coming to get him”.

Maddison had also mentioned Senior Constable Forte before, according to Mr Beveridge. Maddison said Forte and his wife [fellow police officer Susan Forte] were coercing with Maddison’s ex-partner “to try to set him [Maddison] up”, according to Mr Beveridge.

4.23pm on Apr 12, 2021

A friend’s insight into the mind of gunman Ricky Maddison

A friend of gunman Ricky Maddison describes him as “a real joker and a real jovial guy” who he enjoyed playing chess with regularly.

Andrew Beveridge also tells the inquest about how Maddison’s mood suddenly changed on the day he killed Senior Constable Brett Forte.

Ricky Maddison was wanted for questioning when he killed Senior Constable Brett Forte.Seven News

Mr Beveridge knew Maddison for 10 years. They were work colleagues and became close in 2013 and 2014. They became even closer in the months before Maddison’s death.

“Rick became quite alienated from his family ... He was living quite a lonely existence,” Mr Beveridge tells the inquest.

Maddison stayed with Mr Beveridge on the night of May 28, 2017 - the night before Maddison killed Senior Constable Forte. They drank alcohol together and took methamphetamine.

“He was real joker, a real jovial guy, we had a couple of games of chess, and laughed and there was no difference in Rick that night than any other night when I would see Rick,” Mr Beveridge says.

Mr Beveridge knew of the Waller Road property where Maddison was hiding and he had been there three or four times. Maddison lived there for six to eight months and it was his friend’s property.

On the day of the shooting - May 29, 2017 - Mr Beveridge says Maddison came back after phoning the Toowoomba police station and his mood had changed.

“He came back a different person, I have no idea why or what was said. I was just trying to cheer him up. His demeanour was angry and sad,” Mr Beveridge says.

3.39pm on Apr 12, 2021

Police report on gunman’s weapons was filed under wrong name

A 2007 police intelligence report that linked gunman Ricky Maddison to an SKS automatic rifle - the same type of weapon used to kill Senior Constable Brett Forte - was mislabelled.

The coronial inquest hears the report regarding Maddison’s firepower and the weapons he possessed was filed under the name “Mattison”.

The issue of ballistic vests is also brought up again, after being discussed earlier today.

Officers can either wear a load-bearing vest - used to carry items such as handcuffs, a radio, torch and body-worn camera - or a ballistic vest to protect them against knives and firearms.

General-duty officers typically wear a load-bearing vest for their shift and may change into a ballistic vest if called to a dangerous situation.

In 2018, the Queensland Police Service opened tenders for an upgraded vest for officers which would provide ballistic, stab and slash protection, in addition to being able to carry accoutrements.

Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood - who led the internal police investigation into the deaths of Senior Constable Forte and Maddison - tells the inquest that police-issued heavy ballistic vests can withstand high-calibre rounds, such as those fired by Maddison on May 29, 2017.

However, if general-duty officers want to wear a ballistic vest - typically lightly armoured and resembling a T-shirt - under their load-bearing vests, they can, but they must buy it themselves.

Those light ballistic vests would not have been able to withstand the rounds used by Maddison.

2.59pm on Apr 12, 2021

For 10 years, police knew gunman had the type of rifle that killed Brett Forte

A decade before Senior Constable Brett Forte was shot by Ricky Maddison, police knew the gunman had automatic weapons, including the same type of weapon he used to kill the police officer.

David Funch, the lawyer representing Senior Constable Forte’s widow Susan Forte, recounts to the inquest various pieces of information entered into the police service’s QPRIME system in 2007.

It included information linking Maddison to an SKS rifle that had been modified to make it an automatic weapon. This was the same type of weapon, or perhaps the exact one, used in the fatal shooting in Toowoomba.

Police also had information that Maddison had up to 12 other rifles in his ute in 2007 and he had assault rifles hidden within the walls of his home.

Mr Funch also tells the inquest about the actions of Sergeant Jenkins, the senior officer who spoke to Maddison on the phone before Senior Constable Forte was gunned down later that day, when he heard officers had spotted and were chasing Maddison.

Mr Funch says Sergeant Jenkins “ran over” to the communications room when the pursuit started.

Mr Funch tells the inquest Sergeant Jenkins used words to the effect of: “They should keep the pursuit going because this fellow is a bad guy and he needs to be apprehended.”

In addition, Senior Constable Forte’s boss was aware of the automatic gunfire reports from residents in the Wallers Road area, which turned out to be where Maddison had been hiding, but the commander of the car chase involving Maddison the day Senior Constable Forte was killed was not told.

2.31pm on Apr 12, 2021

Police’s lack of response to multiple automatic gunfire reports exposed

The lack of investigation from Queensland police into multiple reports of automatic gunfire in the Gatton area, near the property where Ricky Maddison was hiding, has been detailed.

David Funch, the lawyer representing Senior Constable Brett Forte’s widow Susan Forte, lays out the multiple reports from nearby residents in the few months prior to the fatal shooting.

The forward command post for the investigation into the shooting of police officer Brett Forte.Jorge Branco

One female resident near Maddison’s property reported hearing automatic gunfire and when she rang to follow up she was told by a police officer: “It could not possibly be automatic gunfire.”

Mr Funch tells the inquest there were further reports in April 2017, the month before Senior Constable Forte was killed.

One even came from a resident who said the sound came from the vicinity of Wallers Road, where Forte was killed and the location of Maddison’s hide-out.

The witness, Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood, admits nothing was done in response to those reports and agreed that police “put it down to regular gunfire in the Gatton area for hunting”.

In a separate complaint, a resident recorded the sound of gunfire on her phone and supplied the noise recording to police.

She was told by an officer the recording had “limited evidentiary value”. Again, nothing was done.

1.52pm on Apr 12, 2021

Lawyer asks witness why police must buy their own ballistic vests

The lawyer representing Susan Forte, the widow of Senior Constable Brett Forte, asks why police officers have to buy their own ballistic vests and whether more firepower would have made a difference on the day the Toowoomba police officer was gunned down in 2017.

David Funch, acting for Mrs Forte, grills the inquest’s first witness - Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood - on those matters.

Senior Constable Brett Forte in his police uniform, with a few humorous additions.

Regarding more police firepower, Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood says even if the officers involved in the chase that day were armed with Remington R4 assault rifles, which specialist police officers carry, it would not have made a difference against Ricky Maddison’s SKS automatic rifle.

Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood tells the inquest even if the officers were carrying R4 rifles that day, they would have to have been stored separately in their vehicle and loaded at the scene - none of which they would have had time to do given Maddison’s sudden ambush.

With regards to ballistic vests for officers, Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood says officers are allowed to wear lightly-armoured ballistic vests, which resemble T-shirts, under their police uniform if they wish, but they have to buy those ballistic vests with their own money.

She also tells the inquest those ballistic vests would not have withstood Maddison’s firepower and the vests would not have covered the areas where Senior Constable Forte was hit.

The police helicopter was preparing to join the chase when Senior Constable Forte was shot, but was doing pre-flight checks. Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood says it would not have saved Senior Constable Forte.

Mr Funch also pushes the witness on the lack of specific knowledge the officers involved had of Maddison’s access and possession of automatic guns.

Mr Funch tells the inquest the Queensland Police Service were aware of Maddison’s links to automatic weapons dating back to 2007 and residents in the area where Maddison was ultimately hiding had made numerous reports to police regarding automatic gunfire in the days before the fatal shooting.

Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood says she does not have an answer for Mr Funch regarding the lack of specific information relayed to officers surrounding Maddison’s automatic gun links, and she says the reports of automatic gunfire in the area were never linked to Maddison.

1.07pm on Apr 12, 2021

Court shown police dashcam footage of car chase and fatal ambush

Dashcam footage from Senior Constable Brett Forte’s police 4WD during the chase of Ricky Maddison’s ute and the moment Maddison ambushed officers with a hail of gunfire has been shown at the coronial inquest.

Maddison’s vehicle was spotted in residential Toowoomba and followed along the range. Several other police cars joined the chase and PolAir was preparing to join when the shooting occurred.

Flowers are left as a memorial for slain officer Senior Constable Brett Forte at Toowoomba police station.Jorge Branco

Several times during the chase, officers warned of the potential firearm threat. There was one unsuccessful attempt to deploy tyre stingers and a second was about to be executed when Maddison suddenly veered off the Warrego Highway and onto a dirt road.

He drove along Forestry Road near Ringwood, about 30 kilometres east of Toowoomba CBD, and then onto Wallers Road, to the north of Ringwood.

Suddenly Maddison stopped his ute, got out and opened fire with an automatic weapon, believed to be an SKS rifle, on Senior Constable Forte’s lead police vehicle, which rolled.

Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood tells the inquest an estimated 40 bullets (two magazines) were fired by Maddison, 27 hit Senior Constable Forte’s vehicle and six penetrated the cabin.

“One hit Senior Constable Forte in the right forearm, another travelled through the footwell and hit Senior Constable Forte in the groin area,” Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood says.

Police officers in the two cars behind Senior Constable Forte rescued him and his partner, Senior Constable Catherine Nielsen, from their rolled vehicle.

They had to smash the windscreen to extract Senior Constable Forte and it was 12½ minutes after the vehicle had been hit by gunfire and rolled.

Senior Constable Forte was declared dead at the nearby Queensland Ambulance Service staging area, but the pathologist estimated he died about the time he was extracted from his vehicle.

12.34pm on Apr 12, 2021

‘Go f--- yourself ... come and get me’: Maddison’s call to police

The coronial inquest has been played the full recording of the phone call Ricky Maddison made to the Toowoomba police station, in which he ranted about various topics.

Senior Constable Brett Forte initially answered the call before transferring it to a more senior officer, identified only as Sergeant Jenkins.

Towards the end of the call, Maddison told Sergeant Jenkins: “Go f--- yourself you c---sucker, come and get me”. A few minutes later, after further rants, Maddison hung up.

During the call, Maddison attacked the credibility of the female victim of his domestic violence offences and made an array of misconduct allegations against detectives and Legal Aid lawyers.

“Why don’t you man up and come in?” Sergeant Jenkins said at one point of the phone conversation.

“You know exactly where I am,” Maddison responded.

Maddison also discussed his dire financial and emotional situation, despite Sergeant Jenkins telling him he would be appointed a Legal Aid lawyer if he could not afford his own solicitor.

“I have nothing left, I can’t afford a solicitor,” he said. “I’d rather get a lawyer from out of Toowoomba who doesn’t play golf with the judges.”

“I think you’re a little bit delusional to be honest, Ricky, they don’t play golf with anyone,” Sergeant Jenkins responded.

Maddison made repeated remarks regarding not wanting to go back to jail.

“I’m not going to jail again, I’m not spending one more cent over this lying b----,” he said.

It was later identified he was calling from a pay phone on Lindsay Street in Toowoomba.

12.15pm on Apr 12, 2021

Ricky Maddison believed to be hiding in cave on partner’s property

Police have detailed how the hunt unfolded for wanted man Ricky Maddison, who later fatally shot Senior Constable Brett Forte during the police chase.

Detective Senior Sergeant Fiona Hinshelwood said Maddison was “off the grid” and police spoke to his friends and family, to try to “flush him out”, but nobody knew his whereabouts.

Rick Maddison was shot dead by police after a 20-hour siege. Facebook

Senior Constable Brett Forte was involved in the search for Maddison and took out an arrest warrant on him in relation to the second domestic violence incident, where Maddison fired a gun into the air.

Senior Sergeant Hinshelwood said the Special Emergency Response Team, specialist heavily-armed officers who also have “bushcraft skills”, were engaged to help find Maddison at one point.

It was in response to the victim of his domestic violence offences telling police he might have hidden in a cave on her property.

Investigators were also aware Maddison had bought fuel and ice at the BP service station in Gatton and knew he put the ice in the back seat of his ute, not in an Esky.

This led them to believe he was hiding somewhere nearby.

The fuel purchase and the fact he put the fuel into a jerrycan led them to believe he was camping.