Australian police kill fugitive after months-long manhunt

A seven-month manhunt across Victoria’s unforgiving bushland came to a violent close on Monday when Australian police said they shot dead Desmond Freeman, the fugitive accused of killing two officers last August.

Freeman had vanished into dense country after the deadly shooting on a rural property in Victoria state, triggering an expansive search that drew hundreds of officers into the region’s rough and isolated terrain.

For months, police combed the area in a sustained effort to track him down.

“A man has been fatally shot by police at a property in north east Victoria this morning as part of the operation to locate Desmond Freeman,” Victoria Police said in a statement when asked to confirm reports of Mr Freeman’s death.

Australian media had portrayed Mr Freeman as a conspiracy theorist tied to the so-called “sovereign citizen” movement, whose followers wrongly claim they are beyond the reach of the law.

He was also reported to have extensive bushcraft and outdoor survival skills, qualities that helped fuel concerns among investigators who regarded him as armed and dangerous.

More than 450 police officers were assigned to the investigation and search.

“Today, we won’t reflect on the loss of a coward,” said the Police Association of Victoria.

“We will remember the courage and bravery of our fallen members and every officer that has doggedly pursued this outcome for the community.”

Dogged pursuit

The 56-year-old, known as “Dezi”, opened fire when police raided his home in the small village of Porepunkah in August.

He killed 59-year-old detective Neal Thompson and 35-year-old senior constable Vadim De Waart.

A third officer suffered a gunshot wound to the lower body.

Authorities have not disclosed why the search warrant was issued, though police said at the time that the team involved officers from the sexual offences and child investigation squad.

Investigators believed Mr Freeman may have stayed out of reach with assistance from sympathetic locals.

They announced a Aus$1 million reward — the maximum available — for information leading to his arrest.

In court documents from his fight against a speeding penalty in Melbourne, Mr Freeman described police as “frigging Nazis”, “Gestapo” and “terrorist thugs”.

Australia has enforced a ban on automatic and semi-automatic weapons since the 1996 mass shooting at Port Arthur in Tasmania, where a lone gunman killed 35 people.