The family of the man accused of filming and taunting mortally wounded police officers after a horrific smash in Melbourne left four cops dead has spoken out this morning, releasing a statement denouncing the “disgusting” act and asserting they want to “disassociate” themselves from the incident and their estranged family member.
41-year-old mortgage broker Richard Pusey was pulled over by police on Melbourne’s Eastern Freeway last Wednesday night after being spotted in his Porsche travelling at allegedly well over 140km/h. While stopped on the side of the road, a refrigerated truck is said to have crossed into the hard shoulder of the highway, striking the four officers and Mr Pusey’s car. All four officers died at the scene, while Pusey was uninjured and fled the scene on foot.
In an extraordinary court hearing, police allege that bodycam footage from one of the officers shows Pusey approaching critically injured Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and shouting “There you go, amazing, absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and have some sushi and now you fucked my fucking car,” while filming the scene, including the bodies of officers, on an iPhone.
On 3AW this morning, a woman claiming to be the mother of Mr Pusey read out an extraordinary statement distancing her family from the incident entirely, asserting that Pusey had been estranged from his family for quite some time, and that relatives had received unwanted communication from the public as a result of the assumed association.
The woman, who declined to be identified, stated “We would like to say that we are truly devastated by the tragic events that unfolded on Wednesday evening, the 22nd of April 2020,” and that “We extend our deepest heartfelt sympathies to the families, friends and colleagues of the four officers that so tragically lost their lives in the execution of their police duties.”
“The pain and sense of loss at this time is beyond comprehension and there is little that can be said to ease the suffering of those that lost someone special. It was an unimaginable and horrific accident that has left us all with many questions and as yet few answers,” she said.
“We as a family have been estranged from Richard for some period of time. We learned of the horrendous accident on Wednesday evening. We were incredibly shocked and deeply ashamed by the events that unfolded surrounding the accident and thereafter.
“Our family have been under immense public and media scrutiny since that time in a quest to find some explanation as to Richard’s actions in this catastrophic event. This is an insight we are unable to provide. We as a family have had our lives thrust into the spotlight by association and all we can say is we feel the same sense of devastation as the community at this time.
“This will be our only statement. We ask for privacy going forward from the public and the media so that we too can process the horror of these most tragic events.”
When questioned further by host Neil Mitchell, the woman further stated that “We are disgusted, as you can imagine, and he doesn’t reflect any other member of the family at all in his behaviour,” and that “We just want to disassociate ourselves with the tragedy that occurred on Wednesday night.”
Pusey did not apply for bail after appearing in court charged with a raft of offences, including reckless conduct endangering life and failing to render assistance, and was remanded in custody ahead of a July 16 court appearance.
The driver of the truck was this morning charged with four counts of culpable driving causing death, following a police investigation.
