Veteran pilot tells Hobart Coroner’s court of a long pursuit of fugitive Robert George Greig

A veteran pilot details the long pursuit of a fugitive, who he feared may shoot at the chopper, during an inquest into the 2022 death of Robert George Greig.

Shooting near Glenfern in the Derwent Valley, police searching at the intersection of Glenfern Road and Triffetts Road. Picture: Chris Kidd

A pilot who tracked the fugitive Robert George Greig through dense bush and eventually witnessed his car “explode” has said he had to take evasive action on the day of the manhunt as it was feared Greig may shoot at the chopper.

Veteran pilot Chris Crouch told the Hobart Coroner’s Court in detail about the nearly two hour long pursuit of Greig, which included following him through dense bush from the air which no other police could access at the time.

The court heard that in Mr Crouch’s helicopter were a policeman and a paramedic, and at one point Mr Crouch said he had to take evasive action: “That was the time I did get further away from him in case he was going to fire at us.”

Mr Crouch said he dropped the chopper back to about one kilometre’s distance from the car, flying at about 400-500 feet as a protective measure.

Brighton man Greig, 33, had been on the run from police since late September 2022 after firing multiple shots at police cars following a serious domestic violence incident in New Norfolk.

Robert George Greig

On Tuesday the court heard that for two weeks Greig lived in a bush camp outside New Norfolk to evade arrest and was brought food and supplies by his girlfriend, AAP reported. The two communicated by leaving notes under a wheelie bin.

On October 10 Greig was driving a blue Holden Colorado 4WD when he was spotted by a member of the public who phoned police with his whereabouts, following a massive statewide manhunt.

A chase ensued and road spikes were laid but Greig took off into the bush, driving in an increasingly “fast and erratic” manner, Mr Crouch said.

Mr Crouch, who had flown police officers on aerial missions for years, told the court he witnessed the vehicle stop two times before it came to a final stop.

At that point, only his helicopter had a visual on the car, with the special operations team still a “a good kilometre” away on foot in dense bush, he said.

Shooting near Glenfern in the Derwent Valley, police searching Glenfern Road. Picture: Chris Kidd

Within minutes the vehicle was on fire, Mr Crouch told the court, before a loud explosion a few minutes later which sounded “like a petrol tank or gas bottle”.

The witness was asked multiple times if anyone was in a one kilometre vicinity of the car when it was on fire, to which he responded “no” multiple times.

“The vehicle was fully engulfed in flame, like the fuel tank had caught fire,” Mr Crouch said. He said it smelt like gunpowder.

Greig’s father, Craig Greig, attended court on Tuesday and said he believed his son had been killed by police who burnt the vehicle to cover up evidence, AAP reported.

Gary Greig said a Hobart lawyer told him a source said police had used a flash grenade – but the lawyer later denied making the statement, AAP reported. In his testimony Mr Crouch also denied seeing or hearing any use of a flash grenade, or any weapon of any kind.

Under cross examination, Gary admitted evidence indicated his son wasn’t shot by police and there was no proof officers discharged their guns.

“I just want to know the last 10 minutes of his life,” he said, AAP reported.

The inquest is set down for four days and resumes on Thursday.