Fugitive Dezi Freeman, the man allegedly responsible for the shooting deaths of two police officers in Porepunkah last August, has been fatally shot by police after a seven-month manhunt in rural Victoria. The incident occurred shortly after 8.30am on Monday at a property in Thologolong in the state's north-east, following an hours-long standoff during which he failed to surrender peacefully.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed the shooting, stating that while formal identification was pending, everything indicated the deceased was Freeman. He described the shooting as 'justified', noting that Freeman had presented a firearm to officers, leaving them no discretion to resolve the situation peacefully. 'Everyone wanted this to end peacefully, everyone wanted closure, unfortunately we only have one of those two things,' Bush said.
The confrontation began when police arrived at the property around 5.30am after hours of surveillance. Freeman, who was alone in a structure described as 'a cross between a shipping container and a very long caravan', eventually emerged with an object resembling a blanket over his shoulders before presenting a gun. Multiple officers from the special operations group then opened fire.
Commissioner Bush said that while the investigation was in its early days, police would examine whether Freeman had been aided during his time on the run. 'We will conduct an investigation to see if others have been complicit and aiding him, not just in getting out of the area but supporting him whilst he's been on the run,' he added.
Freeman, 56, had been the subject of a widespread manhunt since 26 August, when he allegedly shot and killed Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35, and injured a third officer while they were serving a search warrant at a property in Porepunkah. Freeman, who had a history of association with pseudolaw or 'sovereign citizen' ideology, fled into the bush heavily armed.
Bush described the search for Freeman as the 'most considerable investment in police resources we have ever seen', involving officers from every Australian state and territory as well as New Zealand. He confirmed that the families of the slain officers were the first to be notified of Monday's shooting, bringing closure to what he called 'a tragic and terrible event'.
