New Zealand police have issued a public warning about confronting armed fugitives as the manhunt for accused cop killer Dezi Freeman entered a third week, with authorities pointing to parallels with a recent New Zealand fugitive who was shot by police after four years on the run.
Police Association President Chris Cahill said lessons from the hunt for Tom Phillips — a man who evaded capture with his three children for four years before being shot by police earlier this week — informed advice to officers and the public about dealing with potentially armed, experienced bushmen. Cahill spoke of similarities in terrain, survival skills and the need for caution when searching dense, remote bushland.
Freeman, 56, a self‑described "sovereign citizen," is accused of shooting three police officers at his home in Porepunkah in Victoria's High Country on August 26. Two officers were killed — Senior Constable Vadim de Waart‑Hottart, 35, and Detective Neal Thompson, 59 — and a third was seriously injured while attempting to serve a warrant. Australian authorities have deployed almost 500 police, trackers and specialist units in the operation to find him.
New Zealand police emphasised that searches in difficult terrain require caution. "Talking to my New South Wales colleagues, they had a gunman on the run for about five years. They used trail cameras to track him because he was so dangerous and the terrain is so dangerous," Cahill told Radio New Zealand. He added that officers must "assume the worst" when confronting an allegedly dangerous individual and that the outcome in the Phillips case showed why police have been cautious.
Authorities in Australia say Freeman is considered a skilled outdoorsman and is believed to be hiding in deep, remote bushland in and around Mount Buffalo National Park. His eldest son, Koah, told Australian media the father had spent much of his life hiking in rugged country and had the skills to survive for an extended period. Koah described his father's familiarity with the area and said he believed Mount Buffalo was "his second home."
Police in Victoria have searched more than 100 properties in surrounding towns and said they had received hundreds of tips since announcing a A$1 million reward for information leading to Freeman's arrest. The search had continued for more than two weeks when officials made the comments. Investigators have used specialist tracking teams and other resources to cover steep, densely vegetated terrain where visibility is limited and movement is hazardous.
Cahill, who attended the funeral for the two Victorian officers, said the Phillips case and the Freeman search shared operational challenges that affect both Australian and New Zealand policing: the need to balance urgency with the safety of officers and the public. "Obviously, we would have liked a safer outcome for everyone, but Mr. Phillips was the one who decided how that was going to end," he said.
Koah Freeman said he had accepted the possibility his father might already be dead while trying to resume normal life. "At this stage, I think he's probably deceased. I'm not sure if you have ever seen the movie Rambo... it's like that but 10 times capacity," he told one newspaper, describing his father's bushcraft. He later told another outlet he was trying to get back to work and to move forward while the search continued.
Police have not publicly disclosed operational details of the search to avoid compromising efforts to locate Freeman. Victorian authorities continue to request that anyone with information come forward and to warn the public not to attempt to engage with a person who may be armed and dangerous. The investigation into the August 26 shootings remains active, and authorities have said there will be further scrutiny of both operational decisions and investigative steps as they progress.
The search for Freeman and the aftermath of the Phillips case have prompted renewed discussion among policing bodies in the region about best practices for long‑term fugitive hunts, the use of technology such as trail cameras, and approaches to managing complex operations in rugged, remote environments. As searches continue, police emphasise that personal safety and the safety of officers remain the priority.