The grieving son of cop killer Dezi Freeman has lashed out at ‘disgusting’ reactions online after his father was shot dead by police following a three hour standoff.
Freeman, 56, was shot shortly after 8.30am on Monday following a three-hour police standoff, after he was found inside a structure near Walwa, about 188km north-east of Porepunkah, where he went missing on August 26, 2025.
His son, Koah Freeman, made an emotional Facebook post on a Bright community noticeboard just hours after his father was killed by police, bringing to an end a seven-month manhunt.
‘I am not here to defend my father’s actions because I know what he did was wrong,’ Koah said.
‘What I’m here about however is seeing so called ‘friends’ and people who I thought were nice people say some questionable things.
‘I hope you all realise that I am looking at everything you are saying, and that you all realise how that is making me feel. I know you people all have thoughts to share about the situation that has been happening.
‘Just bear in mind that to you’s my father was a cop killer, but to me that’s still my father who raised me to be the man I am today. And for the people who know me well they know exactly what I’m talking about.
‘This is news that I’ll be grieving about while some of you disgusting humans celebrate online for me to watch.
‘Before you have something smart to say, how about you try and experience 1 per cent of what me and my family are going through?
‘If you can’t then I highly recommend keeping your nasty comments and thoughts to yourself.’
Freeman was located after a tip-off ‘from someone close to him’, with heavily armed police surrounding the remote property near Walwa.
Daily Mail understands officers attempted to negotiate with the sovereign citizen before the situation escalated into a three-hour standoff, ending when he was shot dead.
Freeman had been on the run since he fatally shot Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34, and injured a third officer at Porepunkah, about 300km north-east of Melbourne, on August 26.
Victoria Police Commissioner Mike Bush said Freeman was believed to be armed when officers shot him and had been located inside a structure described as ‘a cross between a container and a very long caravan’.
‘We are examining the sequence of events and we will be able to report on that, but it did result from a stand-off, the deployment of tactics,’ he said.
‘He then exited the building. There was an opportunity for him to surrender peacefully which he did not.’
Commissioner Bush said no one else was on the property at the time of the shooting.
‘It’s a very remote community,’ he said.
‘To my knowledge, no one else was in the immediate vicinity, but there may have been people in the wider vicinity.
‘There are vehicles there. Whether he used them or not will be part of the investigation.’
There were no animals on the property.
Commissioner Bush added there were still questions to be answered about Freeman’s timeline.
‘We don’t know at what point he left the Porepunkah area and transferred to where he was found,’ he said.
Anyone living in the wider area will be spoken to by police.
Commissioner Bush said the ‘shooting was justified’.
‘The very first people to be made aware of the outcome of this operation were the families of the officers tragically killed on August 26, and all of the members that were involved on that day,’ he said.
‘There was a lot to suggest that Freeman had taken his own life. But I can tell you standing here that our investigators, that’s why they’re professionals, keep their mind open to every possible outcome and follow every possible lead.
‘What I can say – should it be confirmed that the deceased is Freeman, is this brings closure to what was a tragic and terrible event.’
Police are now working to determine how he evaded capture for so long – and whether others helped him.
‘We are very keen to learn who, if any, but I’m sure some, assisted him,’ Commissioner Bush said.
‘If anyone was complicit… they will be held to account.’