Two Ordinary Cops

In this deeply personal episode, Brett’s wife, Senior Constable Susan Forte, shares what it’s like to hear your husband’s final moments over the police radio and live through the week that followed. From the frantic drive to the scene, to sitting in the paddock as she’s told Brett is gone, to a funeral watched by thousands in blue, Susan opens a raw window into grief, love, and the reality that every cop’s family lives with – it can happen to you.

In Part Three of our In Remembrance of Brett Forte series, Cath Nielsen takes us inside the coronial inquest and the fight for truth that followed Brett’s death.
Cath reveals what happens when you challenge the accepted narrative from inside the job — how asking questions can lead to isolation, retaliation, and personal attacks. She outlines the missed intelligence, cultural issues, and leadership failures exposed through the inquest, and the heavy personal toll of speaking up.
We also look at what real accountability means in policing, the key reforms that were introduced after the findings, and why owning mistakes is essential if future lives are to be protected.
This episode is about truth over comfort, courage over silence, and the hard path to building a better police force.

In Part Two of our In Remembrance of Brett Forte series, Cath Nielsen takes us through the immediate aftermath of the ambush — the shock, the confusion, and the heavy days that followed Brett’s death.
Cath shares what it was like going home in the early hours still covered in Brett’s blood, breaking the news to her family, and feeling the weight of a community grieving beside her. She talks about the Tactical Crime Squad office becoming a safe place, the moment Brett’s mates broke down, and meeting the Fort family for the first time in the middle of heartbreak.
We also explore the emotional toll of Brett’s funeral, a later pursuit that triggered her trauma, and the unspoken impact on partners, families, and frontline officers. Cath reflects on CERT’s bravery, the support of the Blue Family, and why every cop must take ownership of their mental health.
This episode is about the humans behind the headlines — and the reality of surviving what no one prepares you for.

In this deeply personal and emotional first instalment of our In Remembrance of Brett Forte series, we sit down with Queensland police officer Cath Nielsen, the partner who sat beside Brett in the Tactical Crime Squad vehicle on 29 May 2017 — the day he was ambushed and killed.
For the first time on the podcast, Cath takes us inside the moments leading up to the shooting, the sudden explosion of automatic gunfire, and the desperate fight for survival as 27 rounds tore into their car. She opens up about the chaos, the fear, the slow-motion clarity, and the instinctive training that kicked in as she returned fire, tried to save Brett, and fought to stay alive.
But this episode isn’t just about the gunfight — it’s about the human cost.Cath talks us through the surreal hours that followed, the moment she learned Brett was gone, and what it’s like to carry survivor’s guilt, trauma, and intrusive memories long after the news crews moved on.
Her courage in reliving this day isn’t for shock value — it’s for every cop, every family, and every person who needs to understand the reality behind the uniform.
This is Cath’s story.This is Brett’s story.And this is Part One of our tribute to a man who dedicated his life to protecting others and paid the ultimate price.

Part 2 of our first-ever live show gets raw, real, and bloody funny. The crowd jumps in with questions—some from people looking to join the job—sparking honest advice not just from us, but from the current serving cops in the room. We cover it all: mental-health jobs that can turn in a heartbeat, the art of leadership on the frontline, and lessons from decades in blue. Add in a few wild stories—a taser mishap, a rooftop standoff solved with sausages, and the world’s worst naked arrest—and you’ve got one hell of a Q&A. Authentic, unfiltered, and full of laughs—this one’s for anyone who’s worn the badge or ever thought about it.

Our first-ever live show! We’re at the Gold Coast Tavern with a rowdy crowd, reunited with our recruit-college “Mum” Di Gallo, swapping pink-slip memories, OC “party pack” war stories, the infamous Christmas domestic, and the legendary “red button” mishap. Plus, Todd jumps up for pursuit and stinger tales, and we launch the Cartonable Offence on the bar. Real cops, real laughs, real yarns—Part 1 sets the tone. Tune in and be part of it.

After seven huge weeks with Zach Rolfe, we’re back to basics—Two Ordinary Cops, eight jobs between us, and a candid debrief on where we’ve been and what’s coming. We unpack the big takeaways on resilience from the Rolfe series, preview an unmissable new multi-part interview with Cath Nielsen and Susie Forte (Brett Forte’s partner and widow), and recap our first live show—complete with real-world Q&A for aspiring recruits (VicPol vs the NT, the truth about learning curves, and why throwing yourself in the deep end can fast-track your career). We also tee up 2026 roadshows (Dorrigo and beyond), hint at US law-enforcement guests, and share a powerful story from a 1950s QPS veteran. Big lessons, big plans—zero fluff. Tune in.

In the powerful conclusion to the Zach Rolfe series, the questions come from you — the listeners — and the answers come straight from Zach himself. No scripts, no rehearsals, just genuine, unfiltered truth.
Schultzy and Damo sit down for one final deep dive where nothing’s off-limits. From leadership accountability and training shortfalls to moral courage, media bias, and what policing needs to look like going forward — Zach responds with honesty, reflection and conviction.
The Two Ordinary Cops add their own frontline insight, challenging and unpacking each topic with the same openness and balance that’s driven the whole series. It’s raw, intelligent and deeply human — a conversation that peels back the layers of policing culture, examines the toll on those behind the badge, and asks the hard questions most avoid.
If you’ve followed this story from the start, this is the episode that ties it all together — real questions, real answers, and the kind of authenticity rarely heard in Australian policing today.

In the final part of the coronial series, Zach Rolfe lays it all bare — the evidence, the bias, and the fallout that followed. He recounts being torn apart on the stand, the silence when hard evidence challenged the narrative, and the irony of an $11 million inquest that left victims and frontline cops worse off. Schultzy and Damo join Zach in unpacking what was really achieved, how the system failed to learn, and why calling everything “racist” helps no one. Raw, honest, and unfiltered — this is the coronial aftermath, through the eyes of those who lived it.

In this fifth instalment of the Zach Rolfe series, Schultzy and Damo sit down with Zach as he unpacks what unfolded after his Supreme Court acquittal — the return to work, the internal reviews, and the long shadow of the coronial inquest. Zach details how his private phone was accessed, the handling of his text messages, and how selective evidence shaped public perception.
Through the lens of former cops who’ve lived the system, the discussion dives deep into what the coronial chose to hear — and what it didn’t. From questions of lawful process to professional reputation and media framing, this episode explores whether the search for truth was ever truly balanced.