Thread: Vale Brett Meredith

This from Brett's wife...love the one you're with...

"Firstly, the family and I would like to thank everyone for the support they have provided over the past few days. It has been truly overwhelming and we can't be anymore grateful.

Whenever I think of something I need to do, its already been done, which just shows us how much people are really there for us.

An example of this is that I wanted my perfume - the perfume Brett loved so much - so Brett could smell me and 20 minutes later, two bottles arrived. Friends have also bought the family clothes and essential items that we didn't have the time to pack.

The turn-out to the function was unbelievable. We really are a family, the NT Police. Brett would have been truly touched.

Brett and I met in 2002 when he was my instructor at the New South Wales Police College. Brett had known and worked under my dad who was a Chief Inspector in the NSW Police so we automatically had a connection.

Our three beautiful children are Samuel, aged 5, Jordy, 4, and two-year-old Abbey.

We both graduated into the Northern Territory Police in 2008 and Brett fell in love with the place. He was determined to fish but never caught his barra despite all efforts.

He wanted to be a leader, to supervise the troops. He was always in the thick of it, backing up his troops and loving his job. He was very popular. I have heard that Katherine police are renaming Brett's favourite police vehicle, Katherine 697, after him.

Brett loved his sport but especially his rugby league. Hopefully his beloved Dragons will be able to come away with a win this year. Brett was always active. He would just put the kids in the car, drive to Edith Falls for hot chips on the grass. The kids adored him. They are used to us doing alternate shifts so I guess they think dad's at work.

I really struggled with Brett's life support at the hospital. What if he was asking me to hold out another day? The doctors were great, kept us well informed - even showing us scans of Brett's brain to explain what was happening.

When the doctors told me Brett had a one per cent chance of survival and that the best case scenario for him was that he would not be aware of his surroundings, I knew Brett would hate that; hate for the kids to see that. We had discussed at times when watching movies as you do, that we would not want to live like that if given the choice.

I went in to hug and talk to Brett and told him I couldn't make that decision on my own. Suddenly the alarms went off and his brain pressure went up to 45 when it needed to be under 20, and his blood pressure went through the roof.

I believe he was trying to take the burden off me, take that decision from me.

I had to make a decision on the time to switch off the system. I didn't want him there simply on display for us. We, as a family, set the time as 5pm, Saturday 2 January.

All of his family were with him at 5pm. My head was on his chest when they switched it off. Brett passed away at 5.08pm. I don't remember how long I stayed there until my dad and brother came to get me. We took coloured hand prints for the children so they would have something of him to always remember him by.

After the machines were removed, I climbed into his bed, put his arm around me and the blanket over us and fell asleep. It was the first time that I slept and it was a really beautiful moment. The nurse woke me up and told me it was time.

Brett will be given a police funeral on Friday the 8th of January in Darwin.

Finally, I just want to say again how thankful we are as a family for the overwhelming support from everyone and the lovely tributes in the media. We have been reading them all and cannot say enough how much it means to us and how much it would mean to Brett.

Brett was my husband, the father of my children and my best friend. The love that we shared can never be replaced and I will forever miss him.

I just wanted to say, "I love you BJ ... I always have, I always will."

Originally Posted by MickS

Had he killed anyone else other than a police officer - let's say, ummm, a backpacker for instance - he would still be on remand. Arsehole.

The plight of our coppers.

We all need to demand the courts support our coppers not dish out the **** as above.