Family of hero cop ‘coping’
THE father of a Queensland police officer who was shot and killed this week said his son was “born to be a hero”.
Senior Constable Brett Forte was killed by “wanted man” Rick Maddison after a traffic stop in the Lockyer Valley on Monday.
His family, including father Stuart Forte, visited the growing shrine for the fallen cop at the Toowoomba police station yesterday.
Mr Forte, who is a former police officer, said the family was “coping” and thanked the public for their support.
“The flowers are beautiful and sentiments are fantastic, it all helps with us to try and grieve because of our loss,” he told Channel 7.
He said he particularly wanted to thank Brett’s police partner and the other officers who were on the scene when he died.
“His partner … and two officers from Helidon who were in the car behind them, who pulled Brett out and tried to save his life.
“The police are a big family and this shows that the public appreciate what the police do for them when someone makes that ultimate sacrifice and their thoughts are with us and it helps with the grieving process as well.”
He said the family had asked the Queensland Police Service to give Brett a big police send-off.
Brett’s brothers Luke and Chris said the family was “proud”.
“He loved his job, he loved the people he worked with and we’re very proud of him, he’s a hero,” said Luke.
“It’s very shattering to lose a brother and it’s still very, very raw at the moment but we’ll keep his memories living forever and we’ll be looking after his family as much as possible,” Chris said.