Dezi Freeman: Police shoot dead fugitive gunman after Porepunkah cop killer spent seven months on the run

Fugitive gunman Dezi Freeman has been shot dead after an armed confrontation with police, seven months after he gunned down two police officers and seriously injured a third.

Police are yet to finish formally identifying a man killed at a rural property near the small town of Walwa near the Victoria/NSW border on Monday morning, a process that could take up to 48 hours.

If the person is Freeman, which police think it is, then that would bring “closure to a terrible and tragic event”, Commissioner Mike Bush said.

Providing an update hours after Monday’s shooting, Mr Bush said Freeman had been killed after a three-hour standoff.

“There was an appeal to encourage the person to come out. We’re examining the sequence of events,” he said.

“There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not.

“We strongly believe, yet to be confirmed, that he was armed.”

Desmond “Dezi” Freeman has been missing since August 26 last year, when he allegedly shot dead detective Sen. Const. Neal Thompson and Sen. Const. Vadim de Waart-Hottart while the officers were attempting to execute a search warrant at a remote property in Porepunkah, Victoria.

A third officer was seriously injured during the alleged ambush.

How police found Dezi Freeman

Freeman, who was still armed, ran from the scene and no trace of him had been found until Monday morning, when it is believed he was discovered in a structure likened to a cross between a shipping container and a long caravan, about 200km north-east of Porepunkah.

Police received a tip-off about his location from a person close to Freeman, unnamed police sources have told The Age, with heavily armed officers descending on the remote property.

A three-hour standoff, starting about 5.30am ensued and only ended when Freeman emerged, apparently armed, and was shot dead.

Mr Bush said it would have been difficult for Freeman to get the location where he was found and it is not known at this stage when or how he got there from Porepunkah.

“We’re very keen to learn who, if any, but I’m sure some (people) actually assisted him in getting away from Porepunkah to where he was located,” he said.

“But that’s a very important part of what comes next to determine that, and if anyone was complicit, they will be held to account.”

Mr Bush said there had been no confirmed sightings of the fugitive until Monday.

“We had over 2000 leads, some of them were a number of sightings, none that were confirmed. In fact, they were eliminated. But we had a lot of information that came to us and I do thank the public for providing that information to us.”

The families of the Freeman’s victims were the first to be notified of the outcome of Monday’s police operation, Mr Bush said. Freeman’s family had also been told.

Mr Bush said Monday’s operation was carried out by members of Victoria Police’s special operations group and Task Force Summit investigators.

“Whilst there will be a professional standards command and a coroner is hearing into this matter, everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting was justified.”

Mr Bush commended the investigation team for their professionalism and perseverance in bringing the manhunt for Freeman to an end, and also the patience of the people of Porepunkah and surrounding areas.

“This has had impact right across that part of Victoria. People have felt unsafe. We’ve done everything we can to reassure them but for them, this should bring this to a conclusion”.

In an earlier statement, Victoria Police confirmed that he was shot dead at a rural property just after 8.30am.

“No police officers were injured during the incident,” police said.

“The State Coroner will attend the scene and the investigation will be oversighted by Professional Standards Command, as per standard process for a police shooting.

“Further information will be released today as the situation develops.”

Freeman, formerly Filby, was an experienced bushman and self described sovereign citizen, a fringe conspiracy group that originated in the US which has evolved into a global collection of people who believe they are exempt from the country’s laws and government.

In September, police offered a record $1 million dollar reward for information leading to Freeman’s arrest after he opened fire on 10 police officers who attended his Porepunkah property on August 26 to execute a search warrant in relation to child sex offences.

The incident sparked the biggest police manhunt in Victorian history, with Porepunkah and surrounds locked down and specialised police officers, including from interstate and overseas, flooding the area.

The search involved hundreds of properties, abandoned structures, mine shafts, plantations and gorges, with police describing the search area in nearby Mount Buffalo National Park as “incredibly, incredibly rugged”.

Freeman’s wife Mali, who police have confirmed was present during the fatal shootings, and a 15-year-old boy were previously arrested but released without charge.

No mourning death of ‘coward’

The Police Association of Victoria says the death of “coward” Freeman is a step forward for the families of Const. Thompson and Sen. Const. de Waart-Hottart.

“Our members said they would find him. They did,” association secretary Wayne Gatt said.

“Closure isn’t the right word. This represents a step forward for our members, the families of our fallen members, and the community. 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.”

“Today, we won’t reflect on the loss of a coward. We will remember the courage and bravery of our fallen members and every officer who has doggedly pursued this outcome for the community. They have worked tirelessly. During the emergency, in the operation that followed and the months thereafter, members across the state have devoted themselves to this singular pursuit,” he said.

“Days like today offer a sobering reminder that policing happens while you sleep, when the media spotlight on an investigation dims and when everything seems lost and forgotten.

“RIP Vadim and Neal. Today, we remember you.”

John Bird, a friend of Sen. Const. Thompson said it was a “good day”.

“It doesn’t change Thommo, but it is a good day because at least the person who caused it is not drawing breath anymore.”

He hoped anyone who had been helping Freeman while he was on the run would be held accountable.

“I hope everyone that has been helping him, because he can’t have been doing this alone, suffers the full force of the law too,” he said.

“It’s just a relief. Like I said, it doesn’t change anything much, but it is closure on that side of things.”