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8 hours ago
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Fugitive Dezi Freeman, the man allegedly responsible for the shooting deaths of two officers at Porepunkah, has been killed after a seven-month long manhunt in rural Victoria.
Victoria police chief commissioner, Mike Bush, has confirmed a man was fatally shot by police shortly after 8.30am on Monday, following an hours-long standoff in which he failed to surrender peacefully.
He would not confirm the man was Freeman but said the shooting concluded Operation Summit, the investigation into Freeman’s actions, and brought closure to the families of the slain police officers.
“Whilst it’s being reported that person is Desmond Freeman, we have to run through a very formal identification process. So Victoria police, at this stage will not confirm the identity of that person until that process has been undertaken,” Bush said.
“Whilst there will be a professional standards command and a coroner’s hearing into this matter, everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting was justified.”
Police were still examining the sequence of events but Bush said the shooting appeared to be the “result from a standoff”. He said police arrived at the property about 5.30am.
“There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not,” Bush said.
“We strongly believe – yet to be confirmed as well – that he was armed.”
He said the man was found about 100km from Porepunkah, at a rural property, in what Bush described as “a cross between a [shipping] container and a very long caravan.” He said no one else was at the property at the time of the police stand-off.
Police were investigating when Freeman left the Porepunkah area and whether he was aided.
“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,” Bush said.
Police have been searching for Dezi Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, since 26 August when he allegedly shot and killed Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart, 35, and injured a third officer at a property in Porepunkah.
The two police officers had been part of a group of 10 police – made up of local officers and members of the sexual offences and child abuse investigation team – who entered the property, about 210km north-east of Melbourne in rural Victoria, on 26 August to serve a search warrant before allegedly being fired upon by Freeman.
Bush said the “very first people” to be notified of the shooting on Monday were the families of Thompson and Vadim de Waart and the other police officiers involved in the operation on 26 August.
“Should it be confirmed that the deceased is Freeman. This brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event,” he said.
Bush said the search for Freeman was the “most considerable investment in police resources we have ever seen”, involving officers from every Australian state and territory and New Zealand.
“It’s been the number one focus for Victoria police since the 26th of August. Everyone has been absolutely committed to bringing this to some conclusion,” he said.
“One of the pleasing things is we’ll be now able to dedicate that resource to other matters, other serious crime investigations.”
Freeman, a 56-year-old with a history of association with pseudolaw or “sovereign citizen” ideology, allegedly fled into the bush heavily armed, with a weeks-long manhunt ensuing.
In February, following a five-day search, police told reporters they were exploring three scenarios in relation to Freeman: he died near Mount Buffalo by self-harm or misadventure; he escaped the area and was being harboured; or that he has escaped the area and has survived without help.
Bush on Monday said “there was a lot to suggest Freeman had taken his own life”.
“But I can tell you, standing here that our investigators, that’s why our professionals keep their mind open to every possible outcome and follow every possible lead,” he said.
“It’s been relentless.”
Wayne Gatt, secretary of the Police Association Victoria, confirmed that the man shot dead on Monday was Dezi Freeman.
“Our members said they would find him. They did,” Gatt said in a statement.
He said the shooting of Freeman was “a step forward”.
“Closure isn’t the right word. This represents a step forward for our members, for the families of our fallen members and for the community,” Gatt said.
“It doesn’t lessen the trauma, give back the futures that were callously stolen or lessen the collective fear and grief that this tragic event has instilled in police and the wider public.”
