Remember me
He was once dubbed 'Australia's most hated man', and now, six years on, Richard Pusey is reminding everyone how he earned that moniker.
Victorians were trapped in the grips of then‑premier Dan Andrews' world‑record‑breaking Covid‑19 lockdowns when Pusey became a household name across Australia for all the wrong reasons.
Officers Glen Humphris, Kevin King, Lynette Taylor and Joshua Prestney were all hit by truck driver Mohinder Singh while impounding Pusey's car.
While Singh caused the crash, Pusey's behaviour immediately afterward disgusted Australians.
''There you go. Amazing. Absolutely amazing. All I wanted to do was go home and have my sushi,'' he said as he filmed Leading Senior Constable Taylor clinging to life.
'And now you f**ked my f**king car.'
That was April 22, 2020.
Fast forward to today and Pusey is now gearing up for another crack at those fallen police through a Supreme Court of Victoria writ.
Richard Pusey claims four officers who died after pulling him over had no-one to blame but themselves
In a nutshell, the multi‑millionaire mortgage broker claims police directed him to stop his vehicle in an unsafe location on the Eastern Freeway.
Pusey had been pulled over at about 4.51pm in his Porsche after being clocked travelling 149km/h in a 100km/h zone.
Senior Constable Taylor and Constable Humphris intercepted Pusey and almost immediately called for back‑up.
Senior Constable Taylor activated her camera at 5.06pm and recorded her conversation with him.
An alcohol breath test was negative, but the drug test came back positive, and Pusey was directed out of the vehicle.
Constable Prestney and Senior Constable King arrived at about 5.35pm and got out of their police cars to assist.
They had parked behind the first police car in the emergency lane.
Both vehicles had their flashing lights activated as they questioned Pusey on the side of the road.
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Constable Glen Humphris, Senior Constable Kevin King, Leading Senior Constable Lynette Taylor and Constable Joshua Prestney were all killed
Pusey's Porsche was destroyed in the crash
Pusey had been relieving himself when the truck hit about 5.42pm - 36 minutes after Senior-Constable Taylor activated her camera.
He later told police he saw the whole thing happen before his eyes.
In a statement of claim lodged with the Supreme Court, Pusey claims the officers failed to redirect him to a safer location, such as a nearby exit.
They also failed to implement adequate traffic control or safety measures while he was under police direction, his claim stated.
As a result, police exposed Pusey 'to a foreseeable risk of collision'.
That risk materialised when Singh's truck ploughed into the police vehicles and Pusey's Porsche, destroying it and exposing him to a traumatic crash involving multiple fatalities.
'At material times and including when initially stopped by police, the Plaintiff was subject to the direction and control of police officers,' the writ alleged.
'The Defendants owed the Plaintiff a duty to take reasonable care to avoid exposing him to a foreseeable risk of injury.'
Emergency services work at the scene of the deadly collision in 2020
Pusey's Porsche (left) had been captured on dashcam speeding along the highway before he was intercepted
While the exact dollar amount Pusey believes he's entitled to remains unclear for now, his legal team claims his Porsche was worth about $450,000.
'The Plaintiff's vehicle was destroyed and the Plaintiff was exposed to a traumatic crash,' Pusey's lawyers complained.
Aged 44 at the time of the crash, Pusey now claims his subsequent arrest the following day was a sham.
'The arrest was unnecessary and disproportionate in the circumstances,' Pusey's legal team alleged.
Court documents state Pusey had been cooperative, posed no flight risk, and that police knew he had been willing to attend a police station voluntarily.
Pusey had been paraded in handcuffs by police before a waiting media pack outside his Fitzroy mansion.
His decision to leave the scene, and the emergence of images on social media captured by him, had enraged police at the time and still does today.
Former Victoria Police Commissioner Graham Ashton struggled to contain his anger while addressing media at the time.
Victorians had been locked down at the time due to 'Dictator' Dan Andrews' (pictured) world record breaking Covid-19 lockdowns
'To flee the scene of an accident is an indictable offence,' Mr Ashton said.
'As chief commissioner, to have four officers killed last night with someone who has clearly been driving erratically on the freeway with an extensive criminal history, it disgusts me.
'Today when I'm spending time with the family members of those deceased officers I can tell you it will absolutely disgust them.'
Mr Ashton said 'to leave the scene is a very, very low act', which was compounded by sharing the photos.
'If I wasn't wearing the uniform of Chief Commissioner, I would give you far more colourful language,' he said.
Over the next year, Pusey would continue to anger police and the wider community with his antics as he progressed through Victoria's court system, which had been reduced to a crawl due to 'Dictator Dan's' Covid lockdowns.
It was during that process where County Court of Victoria Judge Trevor Wraight acknowledged the wider public was 'outraged' by Pusey's actions after the crash.
'He's probably the most hated man in Australia,' the judge said.
Pusey continued to shock Australians throughout 2021 as his legal proceedings dragged through court
It was a title Pusey despised and in the years to follow would routinely send legal letters to media outlets demanding he stop being referred to as such.
Pusey eventually pleaded guilty to charges relating to filming and mocking the dying officers and was sentenced to 10 months' imprisonment.
With time already served, he was released just days later.
But Pusey's time in the spotlight would remain ongoing for years to come.
He was back behind bars within months after being convicted of unlawful assault and using a carriage service to menace.
In November 2021, Pusey was accused of attaching graphic photos of the dying officers to a complaint sent to the Australian Financial Complaints Authority.
He was sentenced the following year to a further 10 months in jail.
Pusey popped-up again in 2022 over various bail breaches and further allegations of online harassment via telecommunications.
Pusey had filmed the dying officers immediately after the horrific crash
It was during that period Pusey told a magistrate he was transitioning into a woman from behind bars.
'I've got discussions with some clinics in Melbourne in relation to my gender reassignment surgery,' he said then.
'My pronouns are they/them,' he insisted from a prison phone after his matter was called.
The despised pest then fell off the radar - a nasty stain on Victorian history most hoped would be lost and forgotten forever.
But in 2024 he returned, this time during a Supreme Court of Victoria civil hearing in which he appeared wearing novelty red sunglasses, an oversized bow tie, blue wig and an 'I love Elon Musk' T-shirt.
This week, Stuart Shulze, the husband of Leading Senior Constable Taylor, didn't mince words about Pusey's current lawsuit.
'No comment. No interest. No oxygen required,' he said.
With the matter set to hit the Supreme Court sometime over the coming months, Pusey is set to cement claim to 'Australia's most hated man' all over again.
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