https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/police-work-that-turns-deadly-202508...


When police headed to Porepunkah to deliver a warrant, they had conducted a risk assessment, checking for any prior convictions and previous behaviour of the resident.

He was known to be eccentric, a “sovereign citizen”, a sucker for conspiracy theories and a hater of police, blaming them for some of his problems. All would be flagged on the police computer system to forewarn those who would deal with him.


He changed his name to Dezi Freeman to reflect his bizarre political convictions. He is a man who believes the rules don’t apply to him and that he is a persecuted victim. In short, he is a weirdo with a grudge. But being a weirdo with a grudge doesn’t make you a killer.

Clearly police were wary, with 10 officers assigned for the job, probably to help search the property or respond if things became ugly. This was a job they knew could go nasty, but no one thought it would turn deadly.

And it did turn deadly within moments of the police entering the property. It’s early days in the investigation but planned or unplanned, this looks like an ambush.

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It is understood police had previously seized weapons from Freeman, but it’s believed he still had a homemade shotgun and a high-powered hunting rifle.

Risks are graded. High risk may require SOG, critical incident response team or public order response team support.

Inquiries into how this case was graded and the allocation of resources will be conducted in the weeks and months ahead.

Police, uniformed and detectives, went to the property to deliver a summons and conduct a search.

And then it happened. While details are scarce, it is alleged the suspect opened fire, killing two police and injuring a third.

He lived on a bus on the property behind a security gate. He allegedly shot and killed two officers as they entered.

Police have yet to release the names of the two police killed but it is understood one was a much loved local detective, 59, weeks from retirement, and the second, a Melbourne officer, 35, working in the area on temporary secondment.

It is believed Freeman took one police 40-calibre Smith and Wesson semi-automatic pistol with 30 rounds of ammunition from a fatally wounded officer.

A third officer, shot in the thigh, was able to take shelter. Even though there were seven police there, it took an hour for an extraction team to rescue him due to the ongoing risk from Freeman. The injured policeman, a local officer, has been flown to The Alfred hospital for surgery.

An SOG crew, including specialist snipers, was flown by helicopter to the scene. There are now hundreds of police involved in the hunt.

Porepunkah was placed in lockdown with the killer fleeing into the bush. This will make the SOG manhunt complex. Chief Commissioner Mike Bush says he wants the matter resolved peacefully with the arrest of the suspect. That will entirely be a matter for Freeman.

The property is heavily wooded. Police will search knowing the offender may have already set up ambush points, built hidden camps and possibly booby-trapped areas.

The initial police report suggested an ambush, similar to the Queensland extremist Christian attack carried out by offenders with a sovereign citizen background.

In December 2022 police went to a property in Wieambilla on what they thought was a routine missing persons inquiry.

It was a planned ambush that resulted in constables Matthew Arnold and Rachel McCrow and neighbour Alan Dare being shot dead.

The offenders, brothers Gareth and Nathaniel Train, and Gareth’s wife, Stacey Train, were shot dead by police following a siege.

As in the Queensland attack, it is likely that ASIO will assess whether the Porepunkah shooting was a terrorist act.

Detectives and intelligence experts will ask, was Freeman was waiting for police; was he planning an ambush?


Bush has begun his five-year term with a low-key approach. Now he will need to lead from the front in the most awful circumstances.

It is every chief commissioner’s nightmare. A police funeral with full honours for a member shot on duty.

For Bush, there will be two.

Given the information below it certainly appears to have been poorly planned.

I would suggest that dealing with someone who appears to have a serious mental Illness and known to be in possession of high powered firearms is something I would take extremely seriously and I would not be knocking on his front door or walking casually onto his property.

More , much more importantly. These. Officers are just like us, they leave behind grieving families and didn’t deserve to die . They were at work and there work involved keeping us all safe.

It’s a tragedy.

The only positive I can take from this is that they have quite possibly saved dozens of people from being shot , the man is certainly unhinged and has proven to be killer.
What  he may have been planning could have been a mass  shooting event?

I suspect his got a plan and has slipped away into the bush.

I hope that those searching know a little about traps.

This bloke was known to Police who also knew of his Sovereign Citizen claim.

Obviously the Victorian Police must go about with their heads up their arses.....

they didn't learn one thing from the Wieambilla incident where two Police Officers shot & killed by the Train Family when they attended a farmhouse in December 2022.

The Trains were the same sort of people as this Dezi Freeman - Sovereign Citizens and Conspiracy theorists.

Also having a heavy arsenal of unregistered weapons.

Hopefully we'll see this headline soon:

"Shooter found dead in bush land with self-inflicted gunshot wound"

Bobby. wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 4:10pm:


Any update on the “ magistrate “ name would be most welcome!

Funny how our court ruins lives but don’t put a name to their terrible decisions ?

Gnads wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 1:06pm:


Sadly, you're right - they didn't learn a thing.

All SovCits should be considered dangerous, especially those known to have guns.

They must always be treated with extreme caution - they are literally insane and could do anything at any time.

I just hope the shooter does the right thing and uses one of his guns on himself.

I'm almost certain he will.

greggerypeccary wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 5:59pm:

Any Sovereign Citizen who is known to have guns will be immediately arrested as a Sovereign Citizen would not, as a matter of principle, apply for a gun licence.

Sophia wrote on Aug 27^th, 2025 at 6:36pm:


No one said or suggested that.... though a sovereign citizen might.

Sovereign citizens that make the headlines have proven they are bad - and it's for all the wrong reasons.

So if your friends don't fit the mold as to these types then they're not really a sovereign citizen type.

They are just more your disgruntled citizen .....

and in this day and age with what's going on - who is not?