SLAIN policeman Brett Forte's partner used her bare hands to tear a hole in the windscreen of their upturned car so she and others could drag him out to safety - all while under fire from a crazed gunman with an automatic weapon.

The incredible heroics of the officers who tried to rescue Senior Constable Forte have been praised by his family, with details emerging that his fellow officers put their lives at risk in a bid to save his.

The Courier-Mail understands Constable Forte and his partner were in one of three police cars that followed known criminal Rick Maddison down a dirt road in a "low speed chase" around 2pm on Monday at Seventeen Mile, near Toowoomba.

In bushland, Maddison stopped and opened fire with a high-powered automatic weapon, hitting Toowoomba Tactical Crime Squad officer Constable Forte.

His vehicle and the other vehicles tried to reverse, but his rolled on the rough terrain, trapping him and his partner inside. With Maddison still firing, several officers from the second vehicle ran back to try to get their badly injured colleague out.

His still-trapped partner was forced to use her baton to smash a hole in the windscreen, before using her hands to rip a hole big enough to get Constable Forte through.

More on this at The Courier-Mail