Police condemn release of footage taken when Dezi Freeman allegedly shot two officers dead in Porepunkah
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Version 0 of 1. Circulation of stills from video ‘distressing and disappointing’, Victoria police says Follow our Australia news live blog for latest updates Get our breaking news email, free app or daily news podcast The circulation of footage taken when fugitive Dezi Freeman allegedly shot dead two police officers and wounded a third is “distressing and disappointing”, the Victoria police force has said. Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, allegedly shot the officers on 26 August at a Porepunkah property, in the state’s north-east, after they were part of a group of 10 police who attempted to execute a search warrant. Multiple news outlets published still images on Wednesday taken from footage of the incident. The still images that were published reportedly showed police, including the officers who were killed, gathered in a kitchen area outside a bus where Freeman and his family were living. Freeman can reportedly be heard arguing with and insulting the officers during the footage, and refusing to open the door to the bus, before Det Leading Sen Const Neal Thompson opens a window to the vehicle and enters feet-first. Two shots are heard soon after, according to the reports. Thompson, 59, and Sen Const Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, were killed in the incident. Det Supt Jason Kelly confirmed it was not police body-worn camera footage and that it was taken by a member of Freeman’s family. However, it is not known who circulated the footage to media. “From a Victoria police point of view, it is both distressing and disappointing,” Kelly said. “I can only imagine the impact that’s had on the family of Neal and Vadim and the colleagues who were present, and the broader Victoria police and law enforcement across Australia.” Sign up: AU Breaking News email Police also confirmed there had been more than 200 tips after a $1m reward was announced for information about Freeman’s whereabouts. An indemnity could also be offered for those who helped Freeman but wished to give him up. Kelly said they were keeping an open mind about the fugitive, 15 days after he fled into bushland behind his property, which is part of the Mount Buffalo national park, including whether he had killed himself, whether he was “up in the hills, secreted away” or whether he had been able to evade the police cordon and flee the alpine region. There have been no confirmed sightings of him. Kelly said fugitive operations could take some time, but that police would continue to dedicate officers to the hunt. There are 450 members searching the area daily. Sign up to Breaking News Australia Get the most important news as it breaks after newsletter promotion De Waart-Hottart’s parents visited the scene this week, and also attended Bright police station, where their son had been seconded only days before his death. Supt Craig Darlow, who was asked about the ongoing impact of the operation on tourism, said that the public should still stay away from the area given Freeman could be potentially “roaming around” in bushland with firearms. Freeman is suspected to have at least four weapons: two high-powered long-arms, and semi-automatic handguns he allegedly claimed from the slain officers. “If you don’t need to come to Porepunkah, don’t come here; if you don’t need to go into the woods, don’t go in there,” Darlow said. Kelly would not comment on whether Freeman’s wife, Amalia, had given them a formal statement. She has pleaded for her husband and the father of her three children, including an infant, to give himself up. |