Hundreds gather to farewell Tweed bikie

POLICE officers showed the dashboard footage of a fatal motorcycle chase to high-ranking members of a bikie gang to avoid an incident at the funeral of the Odin's Warrior member yesterday.

Jason "Roo" Thomson, 42, died on October 17 after slamming into a tree on Terranora Road at East Tumbulgum following a short police chase.

A member of the Tweed-based Odin's Warriors Motorcycle Club and former Australian naval engineer of 16 years, the father-of-seven died at the scene.

There had been rumours that Thomson was rammed by police during the chase, but sources have told the Bulletin police showed footage of the chase, taken from a camera mounted on the police car dashboard, to bikie members and the man's family to prove they were not at fault.

The Bulletin understands the bikies and the family were satisfied the police acted properly during the chase.

More than 200 bikies from Australia's most notorious outlaw motorcycle gangs formed a guard of honour down the Pacific Highway at Chinderah yesterday in tribute to Thomson.

Thomson's life was remembered at the Odin's Warriors Machinery Drive clubhouse yesterday where bikies from clubs including the Finks, Bandidos, Military Brotherhood, God's Squad, Vietnam Veterans, Highway 66, Life and Death and Black Uhlans gathered.

Mourners, many bearing 'R.I.P. Roo' armbands, shared a last beer before Thomson's coffin was hitched to a Harley Davidson and led down the highway from Tweed Heads to Melaleuca Station Memorial Gardens where a service was held.

Police in five highway patrol cars monitored the parade but kept a respectful distance.

Speaking before the service, Greg 'Tomo' Thomson described his brother as a much-loved warrior who would be missed by many.

 

"We are here today for the sad loss of a very great man," he said.

"This man served 16 years for his country as a navy engineer. He was a very proud warrior, he was a very proud man, he was a father.

"It is just a tragic loss, it just should never have happened. This left seven kids fatherless, as well as his grandkids, his nieces and nephews. He was just a great man."

Military Brotherhood national president 'Mucho' said Thomson had contacted his club to seek help through Veterans Affairs for problems associated with his years in the navy.

"We are here to see him off," Mucho said.

"You don't just look at the club, you look at the people in it. He was good, he was courteous, great nature, kind and always had a good word for everyone.

"It is a tragic accident."

Thomson's fiancee, Lorraine, said she had agreed to marry her partner of two years just five days before his death.

"He was just a beautiful man," she said.

Thomson was the second Odin's Warrior member to die following a police pursuit after Craig Robert Shepherd, 26, was killed at Beechmont in 2006.

The latest incident is being investigated by police from the Richmond Area Command.