Police Investigate Potential Network Assisting Dezi Freeman After Fatal Shootings

For months, detectives have been trying to unravel who may have helped Dezi Freeman remain out of sight after the fatal shooting of two police officers in Porepunkah.

The investigation has shifted from one man's movements to the question of whether others helped him stay hidden before he was shot dead in a confrontation with police at Thologolong in Victoria's north-east in March.

Police believe Freeman moved between Victoria and New South Wales while he was on the run, as investigators piece together how he avoided capture for more than seven months.

Since his death, five people have been arrested as part of a wider investigation into whether he was assisted while on the run, before being released without charge.

Detectives are retracing Freeman's movements in the weeks and months after the shootings.

Seven properties across north-east Victoria and New South Wales, including Umina Beach, more than six hours from Porepunkah, have been searched.

They are also investigating if a broader network may have helped.

Attention has now turned to why anyone might have been willing to help Freeman and how those connections formed.

Political sociologist and specialist in radicalisation Josh Roose, from Deakin University, said Freeman had repeatedly framed himself as a victim.

"He framed that very much himself in his numerous media interviews claiming victimhood at the hands of police, hostile neighbours and others," said Dr Roose.

He said there were "many reasons" some people might have chosen to support Freeman in the aftermath.

Some in sovereign citizen forums, he said, had previously responded to similar incidents by celebrating them or questioning whether events were legitimate.

"In that context, any form of violence by him [Freeman] would have been seen through a narrative or a lens of self-defence and him protecting himself," he said.

Dr Roose said ideology could override even serious allegations or reported facts.

"They view themselves as righteous in that context … It is not at all unusual for these individuals and actors to justify violence on those terms."

He said much of the communication between these networks is online.

"What's unique about modern extremism is that you may have more in common with someone a couple of hundred kilometres, or thousands of kilometres away ideologically than you do with your neighbours," he said.

He said many people might never have met in person but maintained contact through shared ideology, and he believed those within such networks were unlikely to cooperate with police.

"What we're talking about here is effectively an extremely closed network of adherents of this ideology and these ideas and this contempt and hatred for the government."

While questions remain about why someone may have helped Freeman, attention is now turning to how investigators can prove whether any of those contacts amounted to harbouring or assisting him.

Associate professor at Bond University and former police officer Terry Goldsworthy said investigators would have begun by examining Freeman's communications and known associates.

He said digital evidence helped identify networks and test whether contact occurred while Freeman was on the run.

The investigation, he said, was now in a more active phase.

"They've slowly sifted through that intelligence and now we're seeing an action phase, I guess you could call it,"

"It isn't unusual to see police arrest people of interest and release them without charge.

"You bring them in, you speak to them and you get a version of events. You don't necessarily get a confession or anything, but you get admissions which give you information and they can be quite useful."

He said even denials could help investigators by locking in timelines and accounts for movement and knowledge.

"So, they're looking at those and getting information."

Dr Goldsworthy said investigators might also have other strategies at play.

"So, you know, the decision to bring someone in for arrest may be taken in conjunction with another covert methodology.

"They may have telephone intercepts and things like that going.

"You know, one of the things we used to do is we'd bring in an offender in, interview them then cut them loose and then we'd wait to see who they speak to and what they say."