Brett Forte inquest: Coroner to deliver findings six years on

The state coroner is set to deliver his report into the 2017 shooting death of Senior Constable Brett Forte near Toowoomba.

Slain policeman Brett Forte.

State coroner Terry Ryan will next week deliver his findings into the shooting death of Senior Constable Brett Forte, who was killed by gunman Ricky Maddison near Toowoomba.

Tactical Crime Squad officer Sen Const Forte was murdered by Maddison on Wallers Rd in the Lockyer Valley on May 29, 2017, after being lured there.

His police partner, Senior Constable Cath Nielsen, smashed the vehicle’s windscreen while under automatic gun fire to pull him from the car.

Maddison was later killed by officers from the Special Emergency Response Team after a 20-hour siege.

The inquest has heard the Toowoomba Tactical Crime Squad had been looking for Maddison who was a wanted man.

Separately, Gatton police had been investigating reports of automatic gunfire on Wallers Rd prior to the shooting incident.

The inquest, which began in 2021, heard allegations Sen Const Forte’s wife, police officer Sen Const Susie Forte, was blamed for his death and that his partner Sen Const Cath Nielsen was bullied, had her gun taken from her and was threatened with complaints forms when she asked questions.

Sen Const Nielsen sensationally said she had been “lied to” about what some of the police in her squad knew about reports of automatic gunfire in the vicinity of Wallers Rd, prior to them being led there by Maddison.

Mr Ryan will deliver his findings in Brisbane on March 14.