The Porsche driver who filmed the aftermath of the Eastern Freeway crash that killed four police officers allegedly attached graphic photos of their dying moments to an online financial complaint after an insurance company rejected his $2.2 million claim over the tragedy.
A police officer told Sunshine Magistrates’ Court on Tuesday she felt “angry and outraged” after seeing an online post containing an image of the aftermath of the Kew crash that killed four colleagues on April 22, 2020. Another witness said he felt repulsed and sickened when he saw similar photos.
Richard Pusey has pleaded not guilty to four charges.
Richard Pusey was previously jailed for outraging public decency for filming the dying officers in the moments after they were hit by a truck. They had pulled Pusey over for speeding in his black Porsche.
Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor, Senior Constable Kevin King and Constables Glen Humphris and Josh Prestney were killed when Mohinder Singh’s truck veered into the emergency lane and hit them, while Pusey was at the side of the road. Singh was jailed for 22 years.
Prosecutors now allege Pusey included photographs with an online complaint he lodged with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority on November 25 last year and with a Google review he allegedly posted about Porsche Center Melbourne on February 7.
Pusey, 44, has pleaded not guilty to two charges of using a carriage service to cause offense and two of offending while on bail. The former mortgage broker sat in the dock behind glass on Tuesday, flanked by two custody officers, and represented himself on the first day of his contested hearing.
Senior Constable Kevin King (left), Constable Josh Prestney, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Glen Humphris were killed on the Eastern Freeway in 2020.Credit:Victoria Police
Prosecutor Anthony Albore told magistrate Michelle Mykytowycz that Pusey sought $2.2 million from insurers for his damaged Porsche, but his claim was rejected in March last year.
Eight months later, the court heard, Pusey attached four graphic photos to an online complaint with the Australian Financial Complaints Authority, which investigates disputes with financial firms.