Apprehending Dezi Freeman: ‘Something has to be done’

How often do we hear the expression “something has to be done” about this or that?  My reaction is always to cringe and brace myself for an announcement that something stupid, ineffective, or wasteful is about to be announced.  This scenario is exactly what has been unfolding with the search for Dezi Freeman.

On 26 August 2025, Dezi Bird Freeman, a self-proclaimed sovereign citizen, allegedly shot at police officers executing a warrant at a property near Porepunkah, Victoria. The gunfire killed two officers with a third being injured.  Freeman was last seen fleeing into the dense bushland of Mount Buffalo National Park, resulting in a later manhunt involving hundreds of police officers.  Freeman has now been on the run for well over a month, with no confirmed sightings since the alleged shootings.

Before continuing the narrative, it is constructive to look at three other broadly similar cases.

The most recent involved a New Zealand father, Tom Phillips, who in 2021 disappeared into the bush with his three children on two separate occasions.  He had been on the run following a soured custody battle with his estranged wife. 

The first time, he appeared to have faked his disappearance and that of his children, when his utility was found below the tideline on a beach.  Searchers' initial assessment was that father and children had most likely been swept out to sea, but instead they had been living in a tent 15km inland.  After a couple of weeks, they returned to the family farm.  With the cost of the search estimated in the hundreds of thousands of dollars, Phillips was charged with wasting police resources.

Phillips and his children disappeared again a couple of months later.  Police did not initiate a search.  He did not show up for his court appearance and thus an arrest warrant was issued.  New Zealand Police believed that the children were taken by their father to a location somewhere in the western Waikato.    

Phillips allegedly stole a Toyota Hilux and was later spotted at two Bunnings stores.  The purchases made suggested he had set up a campsite.  In September 2023, Phillips was implicated in an aggravated robbery, after allegedly robbing a bank and shooting at a supermarket worker.  The offender was photographed with an unidentified accomplice, believed to be one of his children.    

On 27 August 2025, New Zealand police released CCTV footage of what appeared to be Phillips and one of his children attempting a break-in at a store in Piopio.  Police ruled out involving elite military forces in the search to avoid the risk of the children being harmed during a confrontation.   

On 8 September 2025, Phillips was shot dead by police.  An alarm had been triggered at a rural supply store in Piopio.  The burglars, Phillips and one of his children, fled the town on a quad bike.  Spikes were laid and the quad bike hit them.  A constable came across the incapacitated bike, but Phillips fired at him with a high-powered rifle as the policeman was exiting his car.  The constable was hit multiple times.  A second police vehicle then approached the scene and engaged Phillips, killing him.

Police have revealed “Operation Curly” the hunt for Phillips, was never ceased, but officers had to wait until the right time to bring his children to safety.  Locals criticised police for the duration of the manhunt, prompting top officials to admit they had located Phillips and his children on multiple occasions.  They revealed Phillips was deemed too dangerous to approach prior to his final stand.  Tom Phillips and his children altogether spent four years hiding in the bush.

The second case involved Malcolm John Naden, a fugitive in NSW.  Naden was in hiding from June 2005 until March 2012, wanted over murder and indecent assault offences.  

In December 2005, police closed Western Plains Zoo, Dubbo after Naden was sighted there.  There was an additional confirmed sighting of Naden over the next month near Lightning Ridge.  In March 2006, Naden avoided capture at an Aboriginal mission, near Condobolin.  In January 2007 police offered a $50,000 reward for information leading to his arrest.  By January 2009, Naden was thought to be located near Kempsey, and by August 2010 he was believed to be living in dense bushland near Gloucester and Scone.  By early 2011, the police doubled the reward to $100,000 and raised it further to $250,000 in December.