Alleged Porepunkah cop-killer Dezi Freeman reportedly tried to kill a fourth police officer but shotgun failed

Alleged cop-killer and sovereign citizen Dezi Freeman reportedly pointed a homemade shotgun at a fourth police officer and fired, but the shot failed. The shocking new detail, revealed by the Herald Sun, paints a deeper picture of the Porepunkah shooting that has rocked Australia and devastated Victoria’s law enforcement community. Mr Freeman is accused of shooting and killing Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart on August 26 on a property outside the small town in the state’s northeast. A third officer was also injured in the shooting. On Friday, it was revealed Freeman pointed his weapon at a fourth officer and pulled the trigger. But the shot did not discharge and the officer was not hit. The fatal chaos erupted as the police executed a warrant on Freeman for alleged child sex offences. Freeman, also known as Desmond Filby, fled into bushland on foot after the shooting. The shooting sparked a massive and ongoing manhunt. Victoria Police said on Friday officers had trawled through a number of private properties over the past two days in the ongoing hunt for the alleged sovereign citizen. “Over the past two days, police have searched a number of private properties in Porepunkah as part of the ongoing search for Desmond Freeman,” Victoria Police said. “The search involves a number of specialist services and follows intensive searches conducted by tactical police in the area over the past seven weeks.” The police also said an additional 33 officers from the Public Order Response Team had been brought in on Friday to conduct another sweep of the area. “Further updates will be provided when operationally appropriate to do so,” the statement read. “Victoria Police continues to maintain a significant presence in the Porepunkah area. “We are committed to using every available resource and the necessary skills required to find Freeman.” There is a line of thinking that Freeman may be dead. Cadaver dogs, which specialise in detecting human remains, have been spotted in the area. Acting Deputy Commissioner Regional Operations Russell Barrett, in an update from mid September, said the manhunt was the largest tactical policing operation in Australia’s history. “Over 125 specialist detectives scoured and searched an area in the immediate vicinity of Freeman’s location,” he said. “This included extremely rugged areas, by crawling through caves, by traversing rivers and walls, by searching plantations and gorges. “It’s an extensive area, really difficult terrain. “We searched for hundreds of properties – with and without warrant – made our way through abandoned structures, we searched mine shafts, bays, huts, and the operations continue.” The police have also offered a $1m reward for information that leads to the capture of the man. In early September, Superintendent Brett Kahan said “people know” where the fugitive might be hiding. Victoria Police have received more than 1100 pieces of information. Both Constable de Waart-Hottart, 34, and Constable Thompson, 59, died at the scene. In September, the police and religious and political leaders from across Australia farewelled senior constables Thompson and de Waart-Hottart in two affecting services at the Victorian Police Academy. Hundreds of officers attended the academy chapel and thousands more watched the services via a livestream.