A fine son. A great young bloke. A husband and father who went to work and didn't come home.
That's how slain Queensland policeman, Senior Constable Brett Forte, is being remembered.
The respected officer was killed and others received minor injuries after "wanted man" Rick Maddison, evaded police at a traffic stop in the Lockyer Valley just before 2pm on Monday.
Maddison, 40, was shot dead before noon on Tuesday by specialist police after a lengthy stand off on a property west of Brisbane.
His death ended a tense and tragic siege that has left the state's police force grieving the loss of a valued colleague.
An emotional Queensland Police Union president Ian Leavers said Sen Const Forte was a "great young bloke" who left behind a wife, a daughter and two young boys.
"Sadly, he died doing a job that he actually loved and was committed to," Mr Leavers told the ABC.
"It just shows that the job as police, you can leave home in the morning or at night and you may never come home.
"And that has happened to Brett."
With a chequered police ribbon pinned to her lapel, Queensland Premier Annastacia Palaszczuk on Tuesday said she shared in the grief felt by Sen Const Forte's family and colleagues throughout the state.
"I know that Queenslanders today are moved by his sacrifice," she said in Brisbane.
Officer slain in Queensland
Police Commissioner Ian Stewart said his passing had sent shock waves throughout the organisation.
"If ever a person epitomised the broader police family, Brett is it," Mr Stewart said.
The hard-working officer had deserved to go to work and come home safely, and his death was a "terrible tragedy", Police Minister Mark Ryan said.
The commissioner paid tribute to the dedicated officer as the siege continued to unfold on Monday evening, describing him as "a fine son" of the force.
Mr Stewart spent time with the Forte family on Monday night, including the late policeman's father who is a retired police officer.
His wife and brother-in-law are also police officers.
"As you would well imagine, the whole family is devastated. Both his own family, the family of his wife and their extended family," he said.
Sen Const Forte served with the Queensland Police Service for more than 15 years and was part of Toowoomba's Tactical Crime Squad.
He died on the anniversary of the murder of another Queensland police officer, Damian Leeding who was shot trying to stop a Gold Coast robbery on May 29, 2011.
Meanwhile, the Brett Forte Family Fund has been established by the Heritage Bank to receive public donations, with the bank contributing the first $10,000.
