Time does not heal all wounds
Nearly three years after two young officers were killed on a remote Queensland property, their families have turned to the courts to ask a question that grief alone cannot answer: could this have been prevented? The lawsuit filed against both NSW and Queensland Police centers on a failure of communication — threatening emails that were received but never shared, and a risk that was never fully seen. In seeking damages and systemic reform, the families carry not only their own loss but a warning about the cost of institutional silence.
- Constables Rachel McCrow, 29, and Matthew Arnold, 26, were shot dead on December 12, 2022, when the Train family opened fire on a remote property west of Brisbane — a routine welfare check that became one of Australia's deadliest attacks on police.
- NSW Police had received threatening emails from Gareth Train warning he would use violence if officers entered his property, but those emails were never passed to Queensland Police before McCrow and Arnold attended the scene.
- A 2024 coroner's inquest found Queensland officers lacked the information needed for a thorough risk assessment, yet stopped short of concluding that sharing it would have changed the outcome — a finding the families struggle to accept.
- The families, represented by Brandon & Gullo Lawyers, are now pursuing damages for debilitating psychological injuries described as extending far beyond ordinary grief.
- The case enters a compulsory conference phase where settlement will be attempted, but the families have made clear their goal reaches beyond compensation — they want binding changes to training, policy, and inter-agency communication to protect officers in the future.
Nearly three years after Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold were shot dead on a remote property west of Brisbane, their families have filed a negligence lawsuit against both NSW and Queensland Police. The claim alleges that a critical failure in communication between the two services contributed to the deaths of the two young officers.
On December 12, 2022, McCrow and Arnold responded to what appeared to be a routine call at a Wieambilla property. They were among six people killed when Nathaniel, Gareth, and Stacey Train opened fire. Neighbour Alan Dare was also shot dead. The Trains were later killed in a confrontation with specialist police.
Central to the legal claim is the allegation that NSW Police had received threatening emails from Gareth Train — warning that he would use violence if police entered his property — but never shared them with their Queensland counterparts. The families' solicitor, Kirk Watterson, argued that the officers would still be alive had this information been properly communicated and acted upon.
A coroner's inquest concluded in November 2024 found that Queensland officers would have had the opportunity for a more thorough risk assessment had they known about the emails, though it stopped short of saying the outcome would necessarily have been different. The families found this conclusion difficult to accept, believing that relevant evidence was not fully considered.
The case now moves to a compulsory conference phase, where the parties will attempt to reach a settlement before any formal court proceedings begin. Watterson was clear that the families are not driven solely by the pursuit of financial damages. Their deeper aim is to compel meaningful reform — to the training, policies, and inter-agency protocols of both police services — so that no other family is left carrying the same unbearable weight.
Nearly three years after two young police officers were shot dead on a remote property west of Brisbane, their families have filed a lawsuit against both NSW and Queensland Police, alleging that failures in communication and information sharing contributed to the deaths of Constables Rachel McCrow and Matthew Arnold.
On December 12, 2022, McCrow, 29, and Arnold, 26, responded to a call at a property in Wieambilla. They were among six people killed that day when members of the Train family—Nathaniel, Gareth, and Stacey—opened fire. A neighbor, Alan Dare, was also shot dead while investigating the gunfire. The Trains were later killed in a shootout with specialist police.
The legal claim filed by McCrow and Arnold's families seeks damages for debilitating psychological injuries. Their solicitor, Kirk Watterson of Brandon & Gullo Lawyers, stated that the families believe the officers would still be alive if not for the alleged negligence of the police services. He emphasized that what the families are experiencing "extends beyond ordinary grief," and that "time does not heal all wounds."
At the heart of the negligence claim lies a critical breakdown in inter-agency communication. NSW Police had received threatening emails from Gareth Train warning that he would use violence if police entered his property. These emails were never shared with Queensland Police, who ultimately responded to the call. The inquest into the shootings, conducted by Coroner Terry Ryan and concluded in November 2024, found that Queensland officers would have had the opportunity for a more thorough risk assessment had they possessed this information—though the coroner stopped short of saying it would necessarily have changed the outcome.
The families sat through five weeks of confronting testimony during the 2024 inquest, an experience Watterson described as requiring "inconceivable strength." They found it difficult to accept the coroner's findings, which concluded that the incident could not have been predicted and that no government authority had information indicating a risk of the shootings. The families believe pertinent evidence was overlooked or not fully considered.
The coroner did find that the officers were adequately trained and equipped for what they expected to be a routine job. However, the negligence claim now moves into a compulsory conference phase, where the parties will attempt to negotiate a settlement. If no agreement is reached, court proceedings will commence with detailed allegations of negligence and the resulting injuries suffered by the families.
Watterson made clear that the families' pursuit of this claim extends beyond seeking financial compensation. They are determined to force significant changes to the training, policies, and procedures of both police services. Their stated goal is to protect the lives of police officers going forward and to ensure that no other police families have to endure the pain and loss they now carry.
Notable Quotes
Our clients are confident that, but for the alleged negligence of NSW and Queensland Police, Constable Rachel McCrow and Constable Matthew Arnold would still be alive— Kirk Watterson, Brandon & Gullo Lawyers
Our clients are determined to invoke significant changes to the training, policies and procedures of the NSW Police Force and Queensland Police Service in an effort to protect the lives of police officers, now and into the future— Kirk Watterson, Brandon & Gullo Lawyers
The Hearth Conversation Another angle on the story
Why did it take nearly three years for the families to file this claim?
The inquest itself took time—five weeks of testimony, then the coroner's findings in November 2024. The families had to sit through all of that before they could properly assess what happened and what they believed went wrong.
The coroner said the shooting couldn't have been predicted. How does that square with a negligence claim?
The coroner found the incident itself wasn't predictable, but that's different from saying the police handled the information they had correctly. NSW had those threatening emails from Gareth Train and never passed them along to Queensland. That's a procedural failure, regardless of whether it would have prevented the deaths.
Do the families actually expect to win this case?
They're going through a compulsory conference first, so settlement is possible. But what they really want isn't just money—it's systemic change. They want police services to communicate better, train differently, and make sure this kind of breakdown doesn't happen again.
What does "debilitating psychological injuries" mean in this context?
The families lost two young officers they loved. They sat through five weeks of testimony hearing exactly how it happened. That's not ordinary grief—it's trauma layered on loss, and it doesn't fade with time.
Could the coroner's findings undermine their case?
Not necessarily. The coroner said the shooting couldn't have been predicted, but he also acknowledged that Queensland officers would have had better information for their risk assessment if NSW had shared those emails. That's an opening for the families' argument about negligence.