Next week will mark the formal start of long-awaited coronial inquests examining three linked deaths: two police officers gunned down while executing a warrant, and their killer, Dezi Freeman, who was shot dead by officers following a seven-month manhunt across the Victoria-New South Wales border region.
The deadly incident unfolded on August 26 last year, when a team of Victoria Police officers arrived at Freeman’s rural property in Porepunkah, north-eastern Victoria, to serve an arrest warrant over historical sexual offence allegations. The 56-year-old, a self-identified “sovereign citizen” previously known under the name Desmond Filby, had a long record of open hostility toward law enforcement and the Australian judicial system. When officers entered the property, he opened fire, killing 59-year-old Detective Leading Constable Neal Thompson and 35-year-old Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart. A third member of the police team was left with life-threatening injuries.
In the immediate aftermath of the shooting, Freeman fled the scene into the dense bushland of Mount Buffalo. An experienced outdoorsman with extensive knowledge of the local terrain, he evaded the massive manhunt launched by Victoria Police for seven months. Authorities offered a AU$1 million reward for any information that would lead to his capture on September 6, as the search expanded across state borders.
It was not until March 30 this year that Freeman was located, hiding in an abandoned shipping container on a rural property in Thologolong, roughly 200 kilometres northeast of his original Porepunkah home and just kilometres from the NSW border. After a multi-hour standoff with tactical police, Freeman was shot dead by officers.
Since Freeman’s death, Victoria Police has launched an additional line of inquiry into whether the fugitive received outside assistance from any sympathizers during his seven months on the run, a question the coronial inquest is expected to explore in depth.
The Coroners Court of Victoria has scheduled separate initial hearings for Monday, with a morning session dedicated to the two slain officers and an afternoon hearing held for Freeman’s death. State Coroner Liberty Sanger will oversee the proceedings, and a court spokesperson confirmed that the first session will lay out the foundational framework for the independent investigations.
“Judge Liberty Sanger will confirm the Victoria Police member assigned to be the coroner’s investigator in each respective coronial investigation and establish a timeline for delivery of the coronial briefs of evidence,” the spokesperson said.
Under Victorian law, coroners are tasked with independently examining all circumstances surrounding a death, and can make formal recommendations to change policies or practices if they identify gaps that contributed to the fatal outcome, in order to prevent similar tragedies in the future.
Speaking shortly after Freeman was shot dead in March, Victoria’s Chief Police Commissioner Mike Bush defended the tactical response, saying that officers had gone to great lengths to avoid a fatal outcome. “We tried everything possible, every tactical option that we have, to encourage the deceased to end this in a safe and peaceful manner,” Bush said. “He was given every opportunity to resolve this peacefully, and those opportunities weren’t taken.”