Dezi Freeman shot dead by police after seven-month manhunt | Porepunkah shooting

Fugitive Dezi Freeman, allegedly responsible for the shooting deaths of two officers in Porepunkah, has been killed following a seven-month manhunt in rural Victoria.

Victoria police chief Mike Bush has confirmed a man was fatally shot by police shortly after 8.30am on Monday after an hours-long standoff during which he failed to surrender peacefully.

He did not confirm the man was Freeman, but said the shooting completed Operation Summit, the investigation into Freeman’s actions, and led to closure for the families of the slain officers. He also did not confirm the location of the attack, which was believed to be in Walwa.

“Although this person has been reported to be Desmond Freeman, we need to go through a very formal identification process,” Bush said. “So Victoria Police will not confirm the identity of that person at this stage until that process has been initiated.

“While there will be a professional standards command and coroner hearing on this matter, everything I know at this point tells me this attack was justified.”

Police were still examining the sequence of events, but Bush said the attack appeared to be “the result of a standoff.”

He said police arrived at the property around 5.30am and their “ultimate aim” was to try to arrest the person there “as peacefully as possible”.

“There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, but he didn’t,” Bush said. “We strongly believe he was armed – it has not yet been confirmed.”

He said the man was found about 100km from Porepunkah on a rural property that Bush described as “kind of a hybrid”. [shipping] container and a very long caravan”.

Bush said it was at this stage of the investigation that he realized the man had emerged from the building wrapped in a blanket and armed with a gun.

He said no one else was on the far-flung property at the time of the police standoff.

While police are investigating when Freeman left the Porepunkah area and whether he was helped, Bush said he was sure “some” people helped him.

“We will be conducting an investigation to see if others were complicit in the crime and supported him not only in getting out of the area, but also in escaping,” Bush said.

Police had been searching for Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, since August 26 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 officers were part of a group of 10 officers, including local officers and members of the sexual offenses and child exploitation investigation team, who had entered the property in rural Victoria, about 210km north-east of Melbourne, on August 26 to serve a search warrant before shots were allegedly fired by Freeman.

Freeman, 56, who had a history with pseudo-legal or “sovereign citizen” ideology, allegedly fled into the bush heavily armed after a weeks-long manhunt.

Bush said the “first people” notified of the shooting on Monday were the families of Thompson and De Waart and other police officers who participated in the operation on Aug. 26.

“If it is confirmed that the deceased is Freeman, this would bring an end to the tragic and terrible incident,” he said.

Bush said the investigation was in its “early days”; He did not confirm whether a tip from the public helped police find the property or whether this week was the first sign of the fugitive since he disappeared last August.

Bush said police are still investigating whether the property owners had any prior connection to Freeman and that detectives will speak to “everyone in that environment.”

Bush said the search for Freeman was “the most significant investment in police resources we have ever seen”, involving officers from every state and territory in Australia and New Zealand.

“This has been the number one focus for Victoria Police since August 26,” he said. “Everyone is committed to bringing this matter to a conclusion.

“One of the pleasing things is that we can now devote this resource to other matters, other serious crime investigations.”

He did not disclose how much the operation cost.

In February, after a five-day search, police told reporters they were investigating three scenarios regarding Freeman: He died of self-harm or misfortune near Buffalo Mountain; fled the area and was sheltering in place; or that he fled the area and survived without help.

Bush said Monday that “there’s a lot that suggests that Freeman took his own life.”

“But as we stand here, I can tell you that that’s why our investigators and professionals are keeping their minds open to every possible outcome and following every possible lead,” he said. “It was brutal.”

Victoria Police Association secretary Wayne Gatt said the man shot dead on Monday was Dezi Freeman.

“Our members said they would find it. They did,” Gatt said.

He said Freeman’s shooting was “a step forward.”

“Closing is not the right word. This represents a step forward for our members, the families of our deceased members and the community,” Gatt said.

“It does not reduce the trauma, give back the futures that were callously stolen, or reduce the collective fear and grief that this tragic event has instilled in the police and the wider public.”

Victorian opposition leader Jess Wilson and shadow policing minister Brad Battin said their thoughts were with the families of officers shot in the line of duty.

“Nothing can undo their losses, but today can bring some closure,” MPs said in a joint statement.

“We appreciate the extraordinary skill, determination and persistence of Victoria Police who worked tirelessly to bring this matter to a conclusion.”

Follow our full coverage of the Dezi Freeman shooting