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A fugitive who has been on the run for seven months has been shot dead in Australia.
Desmond ‘Dezi’ Freeman, 56, allegedly shot two officers at Porepunkah, a town in northeast Victoria last August.
He was discovered in a building in Thologolong yesterday morning, sparking a three-hour stand-off that ended with him being shot dead.
While the authorities have yet to identify the body, they suspect it to be that of Freeman.
He was armed at the time of the gunfire, the force said, though cautioned that the exact details of the incident were unclear.
State police chief commissioner Mike Bush told reporters: ‘Whilst there will be a professional standards command and a coroner’s hearing into this matter, everything I know at this point tells me that this shooting was justified.’
Bush said the man was found in a property that was a ‘a cross between a [shipping] container and a very long caravan’.
The armed man, he added, came out of the building wrapped in a blanket.
Bush said he was ‘sure’ people assisted him while he was on the lam.
Freeman is accused of killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, on August 26.
A third officer was injured after being shot in the lower body during the incident at the Rayner Track.
The 10-strong team were carrying out a search warrant as part of an investigation by the sexual offence and child abuse team.
Desmond fled into the bushes following the shooting and was not seen again until yesterday’s stand-off at about 8.30am.
Thompson, who had served with Victoria Police for nearly 40 years, was close to retiring and had built a home to spend it with his wife before being killed.
Colleague De Waart had a passion for scuba diving and motorcycling, an obituary released last year said.
Bush said: ‘Should it be confirmed that the deceased is Freeman, this brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event.’
He added that the first people told of Desmond’s possible death was the families of Thompson and De Waart.
Officials say Desmond was part of the conspiratorial anti-government sovereign citizen movement.
Sometimes calling themselves ‘freemen’, they believe corporations hijacked the government and sold the people out to shady bankers.
Officers did not confirm they tracked Desmond down after receiving a tip-off from a local that he was at the remote building.
Officers from every Australian state as well as New Zealand were involved in the manhunt.
Bush said: ‘It’s been the number one focus for Victoria police since the 26th of August.
‘Everyone has been absolutely committed to bringing this to some conclusion.’
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