A 27-minute video obtained exclusively by the Daily Mail shows the moments leading up to the fatal shooting of two police officers and the serious wounding of a third during an attempt to execute a search warrant at a rural property near Porepunkah, Victoria, on August 26.
The footage, recorded during a siege at a bus Freeman had been converting into a residence, shows the man later identified as 41-year-old Dezi Freeman refusing to open the door as about 10 officers surrounded the vehicle. The warrant was issued as part of an investigation into alleged historical sexual assault of a minor, police have said.
In the video, officers hand Freeman a copy of the warrant and identify the property. He repeatedly disputes the paperwork, asserting the warrant was fake and at times telling officers they had his name and address wrong. Officers can be heard responding that the man is at the address they have. Freeman then moves out of sight and tells officers he is reading the warrant and has "one more page to go."
A senior officer voices concern that Freeman may try to destroy evidence, and another colleague says they have been left with "no choice" but to force entry. Detective Senior Constable Neal Thompson then uses a crowbar to prise off a window on the bus door. Within seconds two gunshots ring out and Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart are struck at close range. The video ends shortly afterward. Police later confirmed a third officer had been seriously injured; it was not clear from the footage when that shooting occurred.
Detectives told media that Freeman fled the scene into nearby alpine bushland after taking weapons from the deceased officers. A large-scale search operation involving about 450 police officers and personnel from the Australian Defence Force has been under way and entered its third week, authorities said. More than 100 properties in surrounding towns have been searched and police have received hundreds of tips. A reward of A$1 million has been offered for information leading to Freeman's arrest.
Police and friends quoted in reporting said Freeman had previously lost his firearms licence after a series of public rants in which he abused police and authority figures and posted threats online. Detectives now believe Freeman had manufactured a homemade firearm using online blueprints and black-market parts; the investigation into whether weapons or plans were present at the property is ongoing, police said.
Under Australian law, penalties vary by jurisdiction. In Victoria, authorities say, making a firearm without a licence can attract a maximum sentence of up to 10 years' imprisonment and possessing an unlicenced firearm can carry up to four years. Media reports have also noted that in some Australian states possessing or downloading plans for an unregulated firearm can attract substantial penalties.
Friends quoted in reporting described Freeman as knowledgeable about legal processes and said he had told acquaintances he "knew the law better than anyone else," a comment they said explained his refusal to cooperate with officers when they arrived. Investigators have so far not publicly set out an explicit motive for Freeman's refusal to allow entry on the day of the siege.
Police said the search warrant related to historical sexual-assault allegations and investigators have been pursuing leads related to those allegations alongside the manhunt. Authorities urged anyone with information about Freeman's whereabouts to contact police, and said the search continued as teams canvassed remote bushland and nearby communities.