A Vietnam veteran killed in a "sickening" attack while trying to stop a domestic incident should be commended for his courage, detectives say.
Norman Olsen, 65, stopped his car and went to the aid of a woman allegedly being abused by her ex-partner in the streets of Toowoomba on Monday afternoon.
Police said he was shoved in the chest by Sydney man James Callow, 22, causing him to fall onto the street and hit his head.
The Tweed Heads man, who was visiting friends with his partner, died in a Brisbane hospital on Tuesday night, prompting police to upgrade Callow's charge to manslaughter during a court hearing the following morning.
"He put himself in harm's way," said Detective Acting Inspector Paul McCusker.
"He has paid the ultimate price for that, and all I can say is it's a very courageous act."
Asked whether the tragic outcome could deter others from intervening in similar situations, Det Insp McCusker said it was human nature to help those in distress.
"In this instance, he's come forward to help a person in distress, and I think he must be commended for that," he said.
"But what we must remember is that when these things occur, the best point of call is police."
Callow was also charged with drug possession, but police will not say whether he was under the influence of drugs at the time.
Mr Olsen's grief-stricken daughter Kate posted a photograph of her holding her father's hand on Facebook, saying he was a good man who didn't deserve to die in such a way.
Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk extended her sympathy to the family and praised Mr Olsen's actions.
"(He was) stopping on the side of the road to provide assistance to a woman in distress with tragic consequences," she said.
A Go Fund Me page was set up to help Mr Olsen's family deal with his death.
Police have collected CCTV footage of the alleged attack, which Det Insp McCusker said painted an accurate picture of the "sickening" incident.
But Callow was not charged under the state's harsher one-punch legislation because the current statute would only allow for a manslaughter offence.
Mr Olsen, who served in Vietnam, said he developed Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome during the war and told tales including a triumph over a dozen Vietnamese men in a Hong Kong bar fight in the 1970s.
Callow was remanded in custody until April 27.
Share
