Freeman, 56, had remained out of the public eye following the tragic incident last August when two police officers were fatally shot in an ambush on his property in Porepunkah, Victoria.
For seven months, authorities sifted through thousands of leads until one crucial tip pointed them to a location in Thologolong, approximately 150 kilometers from Porepunkah.
Living in a shipping container on the Thologolong property, Freeman refused to surrender to the police. When he eventually emerged, armed and wrapped in a blanket, he was fatally shot.
Charlie Bezzina, a former detective with Victoria Police, noted that the authorities approached the situation with caution. They conducted surveillance on the property for over a day to verify Freeman’s presence before taking any action.
Bezzina explained that the operation was particularly challenging due to the open nature of the property. However, he mentioned, “The only advantage the police had was that there were no other people at risk.”
“The only advantage (police) had, there were no other people that could be put in danger,” Bezzina told Today.
“Ultimately, he’s got nothing to lose.”
Bezzina said while Freeman, a self-declared “sovereign citizen”, may not have needed much help, it’s likely he would have received some while on the run.
“He had a head start before the actual SOG (Special Operations Group) got there,” he said.
“I’ve learned since then, there are other sovereign citizens actually in Porepunkah that would have been sympathetic to his cause.”
Bezzina suggested Freeman could have approached somebody for assistance, particularly given the distance and terrain between Porepunkah and Thologolong.
“He’d have to be assisted because he’s getting food and nourishment and water to that location,” he said.
“He couldn’t walk into town, because country people know you’re a stranger, and ultimately, he couldn’t afford it.”
There is no suggestion any particular person, nor anybody linked to the property where Freeman was found, offered assistance to the fugitive.
“It would be very difficult for him to get to where he was, if that is in fact him, without assistance,” he said.
“We will be speaking to anybody who we suspect may have assisted him to avoid detection or arrest.”
He pledged to bring charges against anybody complicit in Freeman’s flight.
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