There was no sign alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman would evolve from “hostile cooker to a potential mass murderer” when police arrived at his door last week, a leading psychologist says.
Former cops have revealed the challenge of searching for an “irrational” Freeman in Victoria’s high country, with the case evoking memories of an infamous seven-year manhunt.
Freeman, 56, remains at large nine days after allegedly fatally shooting two officers and wounding a third at his isolated Porepunkah property last Tuesday.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart were part of a group of 10 officers who were attacked while executing a search warrant for historical sex offences at the Rayner Track location.
Freeman is a well-known figure in Australia’s sovereign citizen movement and had previously displayed hostility toward police and the judicial system.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said on Friday that officers tasked with executing the warrant did not request help from the Special Operations Group before attending the property.
Asked if police had called before to see if Freeman would hand himself in before visiting his property, the state’s top cop said “I don’t believe so”.
Leading criminal psychologist Tim Watson-Munro told news.com.au he believed Freeman’s “confused values, thinking and judgement” came to a head last week.
“I think there were red flags long before last Tuesday,” he said.
“There was that footage that’s been everywhere of him being pulled through the streets [by police] … no doubt that was highly humiliating for him.
“There were certainly other indicators of a person who was not insane but increasingly unhinged.”
Despite Freeman’s past behaviour, Watson-Munro said there should not be criticism of how police approached him on the day of the “huge tragedy”.
“I don’t think anyone saw this coming,” he said.
“My understanding is that they did workshop him beforehand and they did a risk assessment of him.
“My understanding is the 10 police arrived, only three knocked on the door because they didn’t want to overwhelm him.
“I think he had murder on his mind … he was going to action this plan.
“Maybe he was underestimated, but there’s nothing really to suggest he was going to leap from being a hostile cooker to a potential mass murderer.”
Retired Victoria Police detective Charlie Bezzina has said it appeared officers decided to take a “softly, softly” approach to Freeman.
“I think they’ve gone in there, quite rightly, based on the intelligence they had,” he said.
“The intelligence doesn’t suggest the response that they got.
“If they had any other intelligence that he would be armed there may have been a different aspect.”
He said it was likely the seven police officers who were unharmed during the incident may have kept their distance so as not to “spook” Freeman.
Former detective turned criminologist Michael Kennedy said it was clear Freeman was “irrational” because of his actions and the behaviour he’s previously exhibited in public.
That coupled with the isolated rural location would make it difficult for police officers to bring the chase to a quick resolution, he said.
“The police can only do what they can do,” Kennedy said.
“We just assume that they’ve got some sort of magic potion that they can use to get him to pop up somewhere, and that’s just not the case.
“It would be difficult enough in a city setting. You would be able to rely on informants, phones. In this, it’s back to basics.”
He believed the manhunt would likely end when Freeman ran out of resources, but said guessing how long it could take was a fool’s errand.
“I’d say and then and it will be decided whether to do something drastic or, or whether he will surrender,” Kennedy said.
“Or whether they will just find him and he’s already decided to end it all himself, any of those scenarios is possible.
“I think the police have got to play it very carefully.
“I don’t think they can plan anything. The final outcome is his not in their hands.
“I’d say, it’s going to have a sad ending. And it’s already had a sad beginning.”
Former senior NSW Police officer Carlene York said news of the Porepunkah shootings and manhunt brought her “right back” to the search for fugitive Malcolm Naden.
Naden was wanted over the murders of two young women in 2005 when he went into hiding, and managed to evade police until March 2012.
York, who went on to become the NSW State Emergency Service commissioner, led the four-month hunt for Naden that finally captured him after seven years on the run.
She explained to A Current Affair last week how difficult it was to locate someone hiding in dense bush when they don’t want to be found.
“Naden had been out in this bushland for about seven years, [he] knew the tracks and knew the area very well,” she said.
“And of course the police go in not having that advantage.
“If they know the area very well they can hide for an extended period of time.”
York recalled flying via helicopter over the search area near Gloucester in the Hunter Region and not being able to see the ground through the thick canopy of trees.
She said the search was the “longest four months” of her life and remembered the uncertainty over when, or if, Naden would ever be found.
“I know when we caught Malcolm Naden he was tired, he was hungry and he had been on the run for an extensive period of time,” York said.
“And that all helped in relation to being successful in the operation.”
Kennedy said, however, likening Freeman to Naden was like “comparing Mars with Earth” because of the different circumstances and backgrounds of the two men.
On Monday it was revealed police suspected someone could be “harbouring” Freeman as the wide-scale search extended into its seventh day.
“People know the whereabouts of the person who’s killed two cops,” Superintendent Brett Kahan said.
“People have chosen for whatever reason, not to come forward.
“Information that we have would suggest that people know [where he is].”
He said the last confirmed sighting of Freeman was at his property shortly after the shootings.
About 450 police officers remain committed to the search efforts around Porepunkah, with Kahan saying “we owe it” to their fallen colleagues to find the fugitive.
“We have an incredible appetite to see this to the resolution.”
Survival expert Gordon Dedman from NORFORCE told the ABC that Freeman could survive in the bush for weeks if he was properly equipped.
Dedman, who was the survival consultant for TV programme Alone Australia, said equipment, adequate clothing and knowledge would be crucial.
“Someone that knows what they’re doing and with the right skills, without the fact that you’re being tracked and that type of thing, could stay out there for quite a while – several weeks, it really just comes down to food,” he said.
“Ten days without food isn’t a long time in the scheme of things.”
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