Victoria police have fatally shot a man believed to be fugitive Dezi Freeman, ending a seven-month manhunt that began after the alleged murder of two police officers in Porepunkah last August. The shooting occurred shortly after 8.30am on Monday at a rural property in Thologolong, in Victoria's north-east, following an hours-long standoff.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush stated that while formal identification is pending, police are confident the deceased is Freeman. He described the shooting as 'justified', noting that Freeman left the building with a blanket-like covering and 'presented' a firearm to officers, leaving them no choice but to fire. 'Everyone wanted this to end peacefully, everyone wanted closure, unfortunately we only have one of those two things,' Bush said.
Freeman, 56, had been on the run 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 during a search warrant execution at a property in Porepunkah. He was known to have associations with pseudolaw or 'sovereign citizen' ideology.
Bush confirmed that police had been surveilling the Thologolong property for hours before arriving at 5.30am, and that Freeman was alone in a structure described as 'a cross between a container and a very long caravan'. An investigation is underway to determine if anyone assisted Freeman during his time on the run, including how he came to be at the property.
The manhunt, which involved officers from every Australian state and territory as well as New Zealand, was described by Bush as 'the most considerable investment in police resources we have ever seen'. The families of the slain officers were notified first of the shooting, bringing closure to what Bush called 'a tragic and terrible event'.
