Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson (left) and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart were shot and died at the scene in rural Victoria. Photo: Supplied / Victoria Police
Australian police have named the two officers who were shot dead in rural Victoria yesterday.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart, 35, were killed in the line of duty in Porepunkah, Victoria Police said.
The manhunt for Dezi Freeman, who is accused of killing the two officers at his property, has continued today.
Thompson was due to retire after joining Victoria Police in September 1987.
He spent seven years in general duties at Collingwood Police Station before working as a detective with the Major Fraud Squad and the State Crime Squad for a decade.
He was posted to Wangaratta CIU in July 2007 and "was planning in earnest for his imminent retirement", Victoria Police said in a statement.
"Neal was an adventurer and enjoyed all things outdoors. He loved getting out in nature, and his friends and colleagues regularly joined him on these trips," the statement said.
"Neal had spent the past six years alongside his partner, Lisa, the love of his life. Since the pair met, Neal had found new purpose... Together with Lisa, Neal had built a new home and had a long list of tasks planned after he knocked off work for the last time."
De Waart entered the Victoria Police Academy in December 2018.
He was stationed in St Kilda for three years before joining the Public Order Response Team in April 2023.
"An eternal optimist and avid traveller, Vadim was fluent in French, Spanish, Flemish and English," Victoria Police said.
"He had also completed scuba dives all around the world and motorcycling trips more locally with his friends and colleagues.
"He was a keen gin collector and always picked up a local bottle on his overseas adventures for his large collection at home."
Senior Constable De Waart is survived by his parents, Carolina and Alain, who live in his native Belgium, and his younger brother Sacha, who lives in Switzerland. He also has aunts, uncles and cousins in Melbourne.
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush - a former NZ Police Commissioner - said colleagues will mourn the loss of the two men for weeks and months ahead.
"This devastating loss of Neal and Vadim has struck at the heart of Victoria Police, the broader policing family and the community of Porepunkah," Bush said.
"It is not lost on me that our members take a risk every time they go to work to protect the Victorian community. While we all live with the knowledge that the worst could happen on a shift, we don't expect it to.
"In these difficult times it is so important that our people stand together and support each other, and I have full confidence that we will all do this with dignity and respect."
Dezi Freeman, in a new image released by Victoria Police today. Photo: Supplied / Victoria Police
Earlier today, police hunting for Freeman blocked off a road, with several police cars seen rushing to the area this afternoon.
Mount Buffalo Road leads to Rayner Track where the shooting happened.
ABC journalists in Porepunkah have reported the police chopper has been hovering over the road for some time and an ambulance had also arrived.
There is no confirmed information about whether there has been any developments in the search for Freeman.
Police at the scene of yesterday's fatal shootings. Photo: ABC/Ashlee Aldridge
Freeman allegedly shot and killed the two police officers and injured a third, at his property in rural Victoria's Porepunkah on Tuesday.
A manhunt has been underway since.
Victoria Police has published an update about the search for Freeman on its website, warning the locals in Porepunkah and surrounding townships that they will continue to see a lot of police activity in their area.
Police said Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, was last seen wearing dark green or khaki tracksuit pants, a dark green rain jacket, brown boots and reading glasses.
They also describe him as being 183cm tall, of medium build with short dark hair.
"The community can be reassured that we have significant resources from within Victoria Police, along with other agencies, assisting in the search to locate Filby," the statement said.
Earlier Victoria's Police Commissioner Mike Bush said: "We believe he has long arms, powerful firearms, multiple firearms,
"We haven't recovered any of his firearms from the scene. So we believe the firearms he used, he is still in possession of."
Freeman - a local man in his 50s - identified himself as a "sovereign citizen", according to ABC.
The ABC confirmed police were executing a warrant for historical sex offences at a property near Porepunkah when the shooting began.
- more to come
- ABC
