Top cop denies blaming widow
THE head of the Darling Downs Tactical Crime Squad has denied Senior Constable Brett Forte might still be alive had he told him about reports of automatic gunfire on the road where he was killed.
In an intense cross examination by barrister David Funch, Senior Sergeant Scott Stahlhut defended only sharing reports of a “machine gun in the community” with members of the Tactical Action Team - referred to as the “A team” by some officers.
“Do you think you did anything wrong?” Mr Funch asked.
“Do you think any failing on your part contributed to Brett Forte’s death?”
Sen Sgt Stahlhut responded: “Under the circumstances, no.”
The inquest has been told that some police officers had known about - and were investigating - multiple reports of automatic gunfire in the vicinity of Wallers Rd.
The reports dated back to January and officers at Gatton had placed a hidden camera on the road.
There had also been discusMr sions between Gatton officers, members of the TAT and Sen Sgt Stahlhut about the presence of Adam Byatt - who the court heard is a bikie associate - on the road.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut said it was only after Sen Const Forte’s death that they discovered Maddison had been staying at Byatt’s property and was responsible for the automatic gunfire.
Mr Funch asked the officer if he was attending an address, would he want to know about reports of automatic gunfire associated with the property.
“Well, yes I would,” Sen Sgt Stahlhut said.
“Is it the case that you would want to know about automatic gunfire reports at an address you were attending because it would be relevant to your decision making process? Do you agree?” the barrister asked.
“If we’re not talking about this particular case, yes,” Sen Sgt Stahlhut replied.
The officer said he did not warn Sen Const Forte and Sen Const Nielsen as they followed Maddison down the road because he did not know where Wallers Rd was.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut denied claims he blamed Senior Constable Brett Forte’s widow for her husband’s murder at the hands of paranoid gunman Ricky Maddison.
He also denied he had a series of run-ins with Maddison in the years before Sen Const Forte was murdered.
Under cross examination by barrister David Funch, who is representing Sen Const Forte’s wife Susie, Sen Sgt Stahlhut denied he had blamed Ms Forte for the death of her husband.
“I completely disagree with that,” Sen Sgt Stahlhut responded when asked.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut denied threatening Sen Const Cath Nielsen with a 466 police complaint.
He denied “intimidating” Senior Constable Cath Nielsen so that she would stop asking questions about how much he knew of automatic gunfire reports in the area where the shooting occurred.
“Was it the case that you intimidated Cath Nielsen for the purpose that she kept her mouth shut and stopped asking questions about Brett’s death that could get you into trouble,” Mr Funch said.
“No,” Sen Sgt Stahlhut said.
Funch asked Sen Sgt Stahlhut if he accused Cath Nielsen of ripping the TC office apart.
“I disagree,” Sen Sgt Stahlhut responded.
When asked if he could provide any recommendations to the coroner about avoiding a similar situation in the future Sen Sgt Jenkins said “realistically not”.
“Brett and Cath were ambushed,” he said.
“It was a dynamic situation.”
Ricky Maddison threatened to ambush the head of the Darling Downs Tactical Crime
Squad and shoot him with “automatic weapons”, the inquest has heard.
Senior Sergeant Scott Stahlhut told the court he was made aware of the threat by a Brisbane detective’s intel report in 2017.
“Ricky Maddison and his son Shane had a plan to shoot police with automatic weapons in an ambush in a driveway with them hiding behind mulch piles,” barrister David Funch told the hearing.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut agreed, admitting he was the target.
“Maddison and his son Shane had talked about ambushing me in the driveway of a property … in Toowoomba,” he agreed.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut said he had no personal dislike of Maddison and did not recall being involved in a search warrant of his property in 2007.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut confirmed he told other members of the tactical action team, within the tactical crime squad, about the automatic gunfire in the vicinity of Wallers Rd, after he became aware through an email of May 22.
Sen Sgt Stahlhut denied there was an “A team or B team”.
“There was no A team or B team,” he said.
“There was a team. There was a team who had a charter to address other investigations where those persons utilised through their experience, some non-conventional investigative strategies.”
Sen Sgt Stahlhut told the inquest into Sen Const. Forte’s murder and the shooting death of Ricky Maddison that the gunman had been considered an “extreme” risk domestic violence offender.
He said by May in 2017 – in the days before Sen Const. Forte was shot – Maddison had topped their “most wanted” list.
But he told the inquest he’d had few dealings with Maddison in the years prior, denying claims made in court that the gunman had once confronted him in the toilets of the Highfields Tavern.
Sen Const. Forte was killed on May 29, 2017, by Ricky Maddison, following a lowspeed pursuit at Seventeen Mile in the Lockyer Valley.
The inquest heard Maddison’s behaviour had become increasingly erratic in the days leading up to Sen Const. Forte’s murder.