Fugitive Dezi Freeman, the man allegedly responsible for the shooting deaths of two officers at Porepunkah, has been killed after a seven-month manhunt in rural Victoria.
The Victoria police chief commissioner, Mike Bush, confirmed a man was fatally shot by police shortly after 8.30am on Monday, after 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. He also would not confirm the location of the shooting, which is believed to be in Walwa.
“Whilst it’s being reported that person is Desmond Freeman, we have to run through a very formal identification process,” Bush said. “So Victoria police, at this stage, will not confirm the identity of that person until that process has been undertaken.
“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 with the “ultimate goal” of trying to arrest the person there “as peacefully as possible”.
“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”.
Bush said his understanding at this stage of the investigation was that the man came out of the structure wrapped in a blanket and armed with a weapon.
He said no one else was at the very remote property at the time of the police standoff.
Police were investigating when Freeman left the Porepunkah area and whether he was aided, with Bush saying he was “sure some” people assisted him.
“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.
Timeline
The Porepunkah shooting and Dezi Freeman manhunt
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Ten police officers, including officers from the child abuse squad, attend a property at Rayner Track in Porepunkah at about 10.30am to execute a search warrant. Two officers are killed and another wounded. A heavily armed suspect escapes into the bush alone. Police deploy specialist resources, including air and ground, to find him.
Victoria police name the suspect as Dezi Freeman, 56. Officers killed are named as Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim De Waart-Hottart, 35.
Officers from the Australian federal police’s elite tactical team are deployed. Police urge alleged killer to ring triple zero and surrender. Police arrest wife of Dezi Freeman, 42, and another individual in a late-night raid at a Porepunkah address. They are questioned and released “pending further inquiries”.
Police announce “up to $1m” reward for information on Dezi Freeman, the largest ever offered in Victoria for an arrest, and warn public not to go looking for the “high-risk” fugitive.
More than 125 specialist officers conduct the country’s “largest ever tactical policing operation” in the inhospitable terrain around Freeman’s property, including officers seconded from all Australian states and New Zealand.
Authorities lift travel restrictions in the Porepunkah area to “allow the community to return to a state of normality”.
Police conduct firearms testing near Barrett Lane and Rayner Track in Porepunkah, triggered by reports of a gunshot in the vicinity on the day of the police shooting.
Police begin five-day search in Victorian high country for Freeman, and conduct further firearms testing as part of their investigation. Police say they are exploring three scenarios in relation to Freeman: that he died near Mount Buffalo by self-harm or misadventure; that he escaped the area and was being harboured; or that he escaped the area and had survived without help.
Victoria police say they do not have sufficient evidence to proceed with charges against three people (including Freeman’s wife) as part of the broader investigation into the fatal Porepunkah police shootings.
Police shoot dead a man after a seven-month manhunt. The Victorian police commissioner, Mike Bush, says the shooting had ended the hunt for Freeman, but would not confirm the man’s identity, saying the Victorian coroner was en route to conduct a formal identification process.
Police had been searching for 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.
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.
Bush said the “very first people” to be notified of the shooting on Monday were the families of Thompson and De Waart and the other police officers 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 investigation was in its “early days” – he would not confirm if a tip-off from members of the public helped police find the property, or if this week was the first sign of the fugitive since he disappeared last August.
Police were still investigating whether the owners of the property had a prior connection to Freeman and detectives would speak to “everyone in that environment”, Bush 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,” he said. “Everyone has been absolutely committed to bringing this to some conclusion.
“One of the pleasing things is we’ll be now able to dedicate that resource to other matters, other serious crime investigations.”
He would not disclose how much the operation cost.
In February, after 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.”
The Victorian premier, Jacinta Allan, described Freeman as “evil” and said his actions had “hung like a dark, dark shadow” over the community of Porepunkah and the surrounding region.
“Today, an evil man is dead,” she said.
“It’s over. And it’s good this individual is no longer a threat to the Victorian community. But to the families of [Thompson] and [De Waart], this will never be over.”
Wayne Gatt, the secretary of the Police Association Victoria, 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.”
The Victorian opposition leader, Jess Wilson, and shadow police minister, Brad Battin, said their thoughts remained with the families of the officers who were shot in the line of duty.
“Nothing can undo their loss, but today may bring a measure of closure,” the MPs said in a joint statement.
“We commend the extraordinary skill, determination and persistence of Victoria Police, who have worked tirelessly to bring this matter to a close.”
Follow our full coverage of the Dezi Freeman shooting
