Shocking moment an off-road police pursuit ends with a hero cop dying in a hail of bullets – as chilling audio of killer’s final phone call before the bloodshed is revealed
- Senior Constable Brett Forte was shot dead by Ricky Maddison in May, 2017
- Maddison was later gunned down by cops following a 20-hour siege in Brisbane
- Footage of police chase and shooting has been released as part of an inquest
- Maddison had called police earlier demanding to know what his charges were
Harrowing footage released at an inquest into the death of a hero cop shows a crazed gunman opening fire at the police car after an off-road low-speed car chase.
Senior Constable Brett Forte died after his vehicle was peppered with 27 bullets from an automatic weapon fired by Ricky Maddison in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on May 29, 2017.
Maddison, 40, was shot dead by police the following day after being asked to surrender more than 80 times during a 20-hour siege.
He had been wanted for domestic violence offences and had led officers on the half-hour police chase just minutes after having a lengthy phone call with Sergeant Peter Jenkins where he refused to hand himself in.
Footage of the shooting and chilling audio from the call was released by the state coroner on Friday as part of an inquest into Constable Forte and Maddison’s deaths.
Senior Constable Brett Forte (pictured left with his family) was shot dead by Ricky Maddison in the Lockyer Valley, west of Brisbane, on May 29, 2017
Brett Forte’s killer Ricky Maddison (pictured) was later gunned down by police after a 20-hour siege the following day
The video shows Maddison jumping out of his car to point a rifle at Forte and his partner.
The gunman had been driving his Nissan Navara when police spotted him just before 2pm on May 29, 2017.
Officers trailed him for 26 minutes with sirens blaring and lights flashing as he headed off road down a dirt track.
Constable Forte and his partner Cath Nielsen quickly joined the pursuit and became the main police vehicle chasing Maddison.
‘Just be aware that he was involved in firearms-related offences so any takedown be careful,’ Constable Forte is heard saying to other officers mid pursuit.
As Maddison comes to a stop on the dirt road, he is seen jumping out of his car and suddenly opening fire on the two police officers.
As they tried to flee the area and reverse down the road, their car rolled leaving Constable Forte and Nielsen as ‘sitting ducks’.
Maddison is seen pointing a gun at Constable Forte and Nielsen before opening fire on the officers
Constable Nielsen is then heard screaming for help.
‘Can someone help? We need help here. We need help here,’ she said.
‘We are sitting ducks. Fortie’s injured. Fortie’s injured. There’s blood. We need a hand here.’
Constable Forte died after being shot in the groin and arm while Maddison fled to a nearby stronghold where he too was later killed.
Constable Forte died after being shot in the groin and arm while Maddison fled to a nearby stronghold where he too was later killed
Before the car chase unfolded, Maddison had phoned his local police station with the 35-minute expletive ridden call being played at the inquest this week.
The call allowed police to track down the wanted man in Toowoomba.
Constable Forte had answered the phone before handing it over to Sergeant Jenkins, the Courier Mail reported.
Maddison argued back and forth with Jenkins about his case, repeatedly refusing to hand himself in.
‘Youse (sic) have ostracised me from society. So therefore I don’t live by your motherf***ing rules no more,’ Maddison is heard saying in the call.
‘I don’t have anywhere to live, I haven’t seen my f**king family all year. I don’t get to see my niece or f**king newphew. I don’t get to see my friends, I don’t have a f**king life.
‘You’ve broken me and I don’t have anywhere else to turn.’
At the end of the call when Sergeant Jenkins asks Maddison to tell him where he is, the gunman is heard laughing and says ‘you’d like that wouldn’t you’.
Maddison led police off the highway and over a dirt embankment that was only accessible to 4WD vehicles – like the one driven by Sen Const Forte (pictured is the Lockyer Valley)