Authorities in Victoria, Australia warn that residents are helping a fugitive accused of gunning down two officers, as the manhunt for 56-year-old Dezi Freeman enters its second week. The wife of the so-called "sovereign citizen" has also appealed for him to surrender to authorities.
Superintendent Brett Kahan said on Monday that “people know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops,” and cautioned that “you are committing an extremely serious crime by harboring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
Freeman's wife, Amalia Freeman, has urged him to surrender. In a statement through her lawyers, she said she and her children “respected the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views.” She also expressed condolences to the families of the slain officers.
Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” with a long record of anti-authority beliefs, fled into dense bushland last Tuesday after officers arrived at his Porepunkah property to carry out a search warrant tied to a reported sex crimes investigation. He allegedly killed two police before disappearing, according to the BBC.
Police arrested and quickly released Freeman’s wife and a 15-year-old during a raid at another Porepunkah address on Thursday but have not provided further details.
The search effort has included heavily armed officers, helicopters, and armored vehicles scouring the area for nearly a week, though there have been no confirmed sightings. Victoria Police, which previously appealed for Freeman to turn himself in, maintains that risk assessments were conducted before the operation, but specialist support was not deployed.
The case has brought about a new wave of scrutiny over how Australian authorities respond to extremist movements, recalling the 2022 Queensland ambush in which police officers were also murdered by individuals espousing conspiracy theories.
Superintendent Brett Kahan said on Monday that “people know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops,” and cautioned that “you are committing an extremely serious crime by harboring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
Freeman's wife, Amalia Freeman, has urged him to surrender. In a statement through her lawyers, she said she and her children “respected the important work of Victoria Police and do not hold anti-authority views.” She also expressed condolences to the families of the slain officers.
Freeman, a self-proclaimed “sovereign citizen” with a long record of anti-authority beliefs, fled into dense bushland last Tuesday after officers arrived at his Porepunkah property to carry out a search warrant tied to a reported sex crimes investigation. He allegedly killed two police before disappearing, according to the BBC.
Police arrested and quickly released Freeman’s wife and a 15-year-old during a raid at another Porepunkah address on Thursday but have not provided further details.
The search effort has included heavily armed officers, helicopters, and armored vehicles scouring the area for nearly a week, though there have been no confirmed sightings. Victoria Police, which previously appealed for Freeman to turn himself in, maintains that risk assessments were conducted before the operation, but specialist support was not deployed.
The case has brought about a new wave of scrutiny over how Australian authorities respond to extremist movements, recalling the 2022 Queensland ambush in which police officers were also murdered by individuals espousing conspiracy theories.
