Mourning a true hero

THE widow of a hero policeman gunned down by a career criminal has been shamefully heckled as she visited the public memorial to her slain husband.

In an incident labelled “nothing short of a disgrace”, friends of “notorious” thug Rick Maddison yelled at Susan Forte as she bravely visited the memorial of flowers and messages of support left in Toowoomba for her husband Senior Constable Brett Forte.

Surrounded by family, friends and colleagues inside the city’s police station, Mrs Forte emerged with tears streaming down her face and a large bouquet of flowers in her hand yesterday morning.

But as she laid down the bouquet, gunman Maddison’s supporters in a passing car yelled out “what about Rick?” as the Forte family huddled together.

Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers slammed the culprit.