The sisters of Neal Thompson, one of two police officers killed by Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah last August, intend to sue Victoria police for negligence, their lawyer has confirmed. Police accountability lawyer Jeremy King said on Sunday that Dianne Thompson and Lois Kirk would bring a negligence claim after the conclusion of a coronial inquest into the officers' deaths. A date for the inquest has not yet been announced.
The legal action relates to the decision not to deploy specialist forces to execute a search warrant against Freeman, according to the ABC. Freeman was shot dead at an isolated property in Thologolong on 30 March, after seven months on the run following the killing of Thompson, 59, and senior constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34, and seriously injuring a third officer on 26 August last year. The officers were part of a group of 10 local police serving a search warrant against Freeman.
In a letter to Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush in December, Thompson's sisters described being “ignored” by police, saying they had not received adequate support or updates on the investigation into Freeman's whereabouts after their brother's death. “We expected grief, we expected heartbreak, but we did not expect to feel invisible,” they wrote. “From the moment we were informed of Neal's death by a phone call instead of in person, it felt as though the magnitude of the loss had not been understood.”
The letter detailed instances of feeling “unseen”, including at Thompson's funeral where they were seated away from the front of the chapel, and not being reimbursed for attendance costs. “Our grief is heavy, but it is made heavier by how alone we have felt in it,” they added. Victoria Police acknowledged the difficult time for families and said it had taken steps to provide support, but also recognised issues raised by the sisters and had met with them directly.
