A man and a woman were arrested at separate properties in north-east Victoria on Saturday morning around 7am, according to Victoria Police. The two arrested people are not related to Freeman but are associates, police said. Dezi Freeman was shot dead last week after being on the run for seven months.
Police described Freeman's final confrontation, with Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush saying Freeman left a building with something similar to a blanket cloaking his shoulders before presenting a gun to officers. Multiple officers from the special operations group fired on Freeman, Bush said. He emphasized that Freeman was given every opportunity to resolve the situation peacefully but did not take that option.
The deceased was given every opportunity to resolve this peacefully, and did not take that option.
Police believe Freeman must have had help to survive for seven months in the bush, and Bush said police will track backwards to work out how long Freeman had been at the location and who helped him. He warned that if anyone was complicit in helping Freeman, they will be held to account. This incident is connected to previous police shootings in Porepunkah, where two police officers were fatally shot last August, according to Victoria Police.
I have seen video of the deceased leaving the building and presenting a firearm at our officers … that action took away any discretion our officers had to resolve this peacefully.
Everyone wanted this to end peacefully, everyone wanted closure, unfortunately we only have one of those two things.
We will track backwards from here to work out how long he’s been here, and who helped him to be here.
If anyone was complicit, they will be held to account.