After a seven-month manhunt, Australian police have shot and killed Dezi Freeman, the suspect in the murder of two police officers, Victoria State Police Chief Mike Bush said. Bush said Freeman’s shooting was “justified” and offered comfort to the families of the two police officers killed, the Guardian reported.
A man was shot dead by police shortly after 8:30 a.m. local time after he refused to surrender during the hours-long standoff, the police chief said at a news conference Monday. While he did not confirm that the man shot was Dezi Freeman, he did say that Operation Summit, which was launched to investigate Freeman’s actions, had been closed. The police chief did not confirm the location of the shooting, but according to media reports, the raid took place in Walwa, Victoria.
“Although reports indicate that this individual is Desmond Freeman, we have yet to complete the formal identification process,” Bush said. “So at this stage, Victoria Police will not confirm the identity of the individual until that process is complete. While there will be an inquest and a coroner’s inquest into this matter, everything I know at this point suggests that this shooting was justified,” he added. Police are still investigating the incident, but Bush said the shooting appears to have been “the result of a standoff.”
The police chief said police arrived at the scene at approximately 5:30 a.m. with the goal of arresting the person at the scene “as peacefully as possible.” “He had the opportunity to surrender peacefully, but he didn’t,” Bush said. “We strongly suspect – although this has yet to be confirmed – that he had a weapon.”
Australian police had been looking for Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, since August 26 last year after he allegedly shot and killed Sergeant Neal Thompson, 59, and Sergeant Vadim De Waart, 35, in Porepunkah, Victoria. Freeman also injured a third officer that day.
The slain policemen were members of a team tasked with investigating sexual crimes and child abuse. On August 26, they were part of a team of 10 entering a property to execute a search warrant when Freeman, 56, shot them and then fled.
Bush said at the news conference that the families of Thompson and De Waart, as well as the other officers involved in the Aug. 26 operation, were the first to be notified of Monday’s shooting. “If it is confirmed that the deceased is indeed Freeman, it will bring closure to a tragic and horrific event,” said Sgt.
According to the BBC, Freeman promoted various conspiracy theories, described himself as a “sovereign citizen” and was part of an anti-government movement that rejects authorities and laws. Residents of the town of Porepunkah told media that Freeman’s extremist views had intensified during the coronavirus outbreak due to government rules and restrictions, which were particularly strict in Victoria.
