Shooter said police ‘had it in for him’
A FRIEND and neighbour of the paranoid gunman who shot police officer Brett Forte has told an inquest he spoke of “husband and wife” police officers he believed had it in for him.
It comes as the inquest into the deaths of Sen Const. Forte and Maddison was told gunman Ricky Maddison had made threats to ambush and shoot police as far back as 2007.
Barrister David Funch told the court Maddison had made the threat towards a police officer, Senior Sergeant Scott Stahlhut, in 2007.
He said the threat had involved plans to “ambush Stahlhut and other officers and shoot them in a driveway”.
The court also heard the officer was targeted in a violent home invasion the same year by men who were associates of Maddison.
Maddison, who was shot by SERT officers following a 20-hour siege, would often spend time with Adam Byatt, who lived nearby, the inquest heard.
The pair got to know each other through working in security and would sometimes go shooting or drink together.
Mr Byatt told the inquest into the deaths of Sen Const. Forte and Maddison he’d had no idea his friend would ambush police on a dirt track and fire an SKS assault rifle at them.
He said he also had no idea Maddison was on the run from police in the weeks leading up to the May 29, 2017 shooting, and only bought him a mobile phone in his own name because Maddison was “broke”.
“He was a proud man and he was broke,” Mr Byatt, who denied any links to the bikie gang Life and Death, said.
Mr Byatt said he gave the phone to Maddison with $100 credit after setting it up in his own name.
“I didn’t buy it to cover up anything,” he said.
“I just did it.
“My understanding was all the charges (against Maddison) had been dropped.”
He said Maddison had sometimes drunkenly complained about being targeted by police and had mentioned a “husband and wife team” he now believed were Brett and Susie Forte.
He said Maddison had sometimes said things like, if police were “following” him, “maybe I should follow them”.
Mr Byatt said he was not aware police were investigating reports of automatic gunfire near his house and did not realise until later that a man walking down the road near his property carrying an iPad was a police officer.
He denied telling the man: “You wanna be careful around here in case some hillbillies shoot you.”
“I did warn him that on the other side of the hill as you walked up on the right hand side there is a private property … (and) they are not too friendly,” he told the inquest.
“I certainly didn’t threaten anybody with being shot.
“I never threatened the man.
“I certainly warned him of what the property boundaries were.”
Mr Byatt agreed he had taken a photograph of the man and sent it to Maddison to warn him “there is a strange fellow walking around”.
He said he and Maddison had also investigated strange lights and cars driving around the Wallers Rd area but discovered marijuana planted in among the lantana and thought it was related to that.
Sergeant Shane Fitzpatrick, who was in charge of Gatton CIB at the time of the shooting, told the inquest there had been conversations with Susie Forte in 2015 about security at her home because of the threat from Maddison.
“Maddison was obviously a risk,” he said.
He agreed he’d had conversations with her about the “reliability” of the woman who had made domestic violence allegations against Maddison as a witness in possible court proceedings.
“You weren’t quite sure if you fully believed her story?” barrister David Funch, representing Susie Forte, said.
“I’m not too sure if I actually said those words,” Sgt Fitzpatrick said.
“Did you express concern to Susan Forte that (the woman) might be a hostile witness?” the lawyer asked.
“Again, I am not too sure,” Sgt Fitzpatrick said.
READ MORE ON THE INQUEST INTO THE DEATH OF BRETT FORTE AT THECHRONICLE.COM.AU.