In brief
- Police offered a $1 million reward for information about Freeman.
- A three-hour stand-off was held before Freeman was shot dead.
After seven months on the run, alleged police shooter Desmond Freeman is believed to have been shot dead by heavily armed police in Victoria's north-east on Monday morning.
Victoria Police confirmed a man was killed at a property in Thologolong after 8.30am on Monday, as part of the operation to locate Freeman.
Victoria Police chief commissioner Mike Bush said police were following a formal identification process to officially confirm Freeman was the man shot dead, but he told media that "we believe it is Freeman".
On 26 August, Freeman allegedly killed two police officers and injured a third officer when they served a search warrant on a property near Porepunkah in Victoria's alpine region.
Freeman fled into bushland, sparking one of Australia's largest police operations in history, and police offered a $1 million reward for information that led to Freeman's arrest.
Over the next seven months, Victoria Police received over 2,000 leads from the public and adjusted their operations several times.
Freeman was believed to be hiding out in a shipping container in Walwa, more than two hours' drive from Porepunkah on the Victoria-NSW border.
At 5.30am on Monday, police surrounded a building in Thologolong, near Walwa, and appealed for a man inside to come out.
A three-hour-long stand-off ensued, and police believed the man was armed. Bush said the man then left the building following the stand-off.
"There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully, which he did not," he said.
"Everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting [by police] was justified."
The fugitive on the run
Freeman was believed to be involved with the so-called 'sovereign citizen' movement, a loose collective that dismisses the government's legitimacy and believes they aren't subject to laws.
He was identified by Victoria Police on 27 August as the gunman who allegedly killed senior constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart and detective leading senior constable Neal Thompson.
Alongside hundreds of Victoria Police officers, the Australian Federal Police's elite tactical team also joined the investigation, with several state police forces also offering to assist.
On 29 August, three days after the fatal shooting of the two police officers, Freeman's wife and 15-year-old son were arrested in a raid on a property in Porepunkah. The duo were interviewed and later released without charge.
Freeman's wife Amalia then urged him to surrender and said she would cooperate with Victoria Police. She was later confirmed to have been present at the time of the shooting.
With no luck in the following month, Bush announced the search for Freeman had been scaled back.
In October, police formed Taskforce Summit to lead the search for Freeman, followed by a new investigation in November into reports of a gunshot heard before Freeman opened fire on officers back in August.
In February, Victoria Police announced a fresh five-day search of the bushland where Freeman last appeared, but with no breakthrough.
Two weeks before the stand-off with the man believed to be Freeman, Victoria Police confirmed they had abandoned plans to prosecute three people, including Freeman's wife.
Killed officers remembered
Following the standoff on Monday, the Victorian police union praised officers involved for finding Freeman after months of searching dense bushland.
"Today, we won't reflect on the loss of a coward," a spokesperson said.
"We will remember the courage and bravery of our fallen members and every officer that has doggedly pursued this outcome for the community."
Thompson was only one week away from retiring when he was allegedly hit by police, while de Waart-Hottart was on a temporary assignment in the area.
In September, the two officers' names were added to the Victoria Police memorial. De Waart-Hottart received a guard of honour after his funeral at the Victoria Police Academy.
Businesses in Porepunkah have also been affected by the manhunt, as the area was subjected to lockdown. In September, the Victorian government launched a $2.5 million package to support tourism in Porepunkah, Bright and surrounding areas affected by the manhunt.
Independent federal MP for Indi Helen Haines said a dark cloud had hung over the Porepunkah community for the past seven months.
"This will come as a relief to the whole community," she said.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan also paid tribute to Thompson and de Waart-Hottart on Monday.
"Today, an evil man is dead. And it's over. And it's good that this individual is no longer a threat to the Victorian community," she said.
"The tragic loss of these two strong, brave Victorian police officers will continue to be felt forever, in their families who loved these men and their colleagues in Victoria Police who also loved and worked with them."
—With additional reporting by the Australian Associated Press
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