Police opted against SOG role in arresting alleged Porepunkah gunman

3 weeks ago 13

Specialist police were “considered but not requested” by officers planning to issue the sex abuse warrant on alleged police killer Dezi Freeman, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen with known hatred of the force and access to firearms.

As the manhunt for Freeman entered its fifth day, police moved in on his wife and teenage son, urged the fugitive to give himself up and warned sympathisers against helping his escape.

Developments in the hunt for Freeman came as senior police expressed frustration that their resources would be further strained by protests planned in Melbourne on Sunday.

Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said on Friday more than 450 officers were now in the High Country while the alleged gunman remained at large in rugged and remote terrain.

“We are not leaving here until this person is in custody,” he said.

Bush confirmed a risk assessment before Tuesday’s incident, which claimed the lives of Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, had not sparked a call for Special Operations Group assistance.

“When they prepare for a search warrant, they’ll do a risk assessment,” he said. “They will then decide what level of risk is attached to that and what resources are required to support that.

“They did not consider a request to the Special Operations Group necessary. So what follows is – there was no request, therefore there was no declining of a request.”

Thompson was killed when Freeman allegedly opened fire with a home-made shotgun through the door of a bus he was living in on the Rayner Track property. He then opened a window and fired on De Waart, also injuring a third officer who took shelter under the bus. He is recovering in hospital after undergoing further surgery on Friday.

Funerals for the slain police will take place with full honours at the Victoria Police Academy in Glen Waverley. De Waart will be farewelled on Friday and Thompson on September 8.

Fugitive squad detectives and Special Operations Group officers took Freeman’s wife, Mali, 42, and their 15-year-old son into custody during a nighttime operation in Porepunkah on Thursday.

The pair were interviewed “specifically in relation to the homicide” and released.

“There may or may not be charges that follow,” Bush said.

Senior Constable Vadim De Waart (left) and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson.

Residents of Chandler Court were tight-lipped when asked about the commotion. One young man asked the media to stay away from the house, owned by a friend of Mali’s, and to leave “the family alone”.

The chief commissioner said there had been an alleged sighting of Freeman since his escape, but none had been confirmed.

Bush made a direct appeal to Freeman, a survivalist with weapons and a known hatred of the force.

“If that person is listening, it really is time to lay down your firearms and give yourself up so that we can all bring this to a safe conclusion,” Bush said.

A friend of Dezi Freeman, who also lived on the same Porepunkah property where the shooting unfolded, told reporters on Friday he had been helping take care of Freeman’s wife and their children, describing them as “highly stressed”.

“To Dezi, do the right thing for your family,” Fabio Zambelli told Channel Ten. “Give up, surrender. I’m not here to judge … but there’s a woman and kids under high stress.”

The police chief also warned sympathisers about giving Freeman any assistance.

A police vehicle in Porepunka on Friday.

“If he is being aided in his escape, whoever is considering aiding him in this escape or avoiding apprehension, they are committing a criminal offence,” Bush said.

“This person does not deserve to be aided in any way.”

Armed police swarmed a street in Porepunkah overnight.

The manhunt, one of the biggest in Victoria’s history, is being aided by officers from NSW, South Australia, the ACT and the federal police.

“It’s not just the Victoria Police that are hurting at the moment – it’s the entire police family,” Bush said.

Resources will be stretched at the weekend by a planned anti-immigration march in the CBD set to coincide with the weekly pro-Palestine march.

Superintendent Troy Papworth said police would have to mount “a significant operational response to ensure we maintain public order and safety”.

“It’s extremely frustrating that in the midst of a major police operation in Porepunkah, we’ve got to allocate significant resources to these protests,” he said on 3AW.

“We’ve just lost two of our colleagues, and we are in the process of tracking down an armed and dangerous fugitive, yet we are having to respond to protesters intent on causing disruption and violence.”

Prime Minister Anthony Albanese said he had offered Victoria “every support that is required” in the hunt for the alleged gunman.

Bad weather continues to slow search efforts. The area has already been hit by persistent rain and a storm cell with fierce winds, thunder, lightning and hail is forecast for the weekend.

Emergency management commissioner Tim Wiebusch warned that Victorians were facing a weather system unlike anything it had seen in a “couple of years”.

Dezi Freeman remains the subject of a manhunt.

The Bureau of Meteorology has forecast possible blizzard conditions in the alpine region.

“The weather certainly doesn’t help, but our people are very used to working in inclement conditions,” Bush said. “And I’m sure it doesn’t help the person we’re looking for.

“The number-one priority for Victoria Police is to find the person who murdered our officers.”

After enduring days of warnings to stay indoors, locals returned to the Porepunkah Pub on Friday afternoon.

Misty-Rose Wilson, the pub’s general manager, said the drama of the past few days as “a huge shock” to the tourist town, which she believes many don’t know about.

General manager of the Porepunkah Pub Misty-Rose Wilson.

Wilson said she had come across Freeman a few times, but he wasn’t a regular at the pub.

“He had a nice demeanour. He was definitely an outspoken gentleman, but nothing to warrant the decisions he made four days ago,” she said.

Wilson said many High Country locals had a similar anti-authority mindset to Freeman.

“It’s a shock to see someone you know slowly decline, I suppose, over the past few years,” she said.

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