Police in Victoria’s Alpine region will be equipped with long-arm rifles in addition to their hand guns as a result of Dezi Freeman’s “cold-blooded” murder of two police officers.
In an interview with the ABC as he marked his first year in the role, Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush said officers based in Wodonga and Wangaratta were among rural members who would soon have the weapon as an extra layer of protection.
“We want to make sure our staff who are more in regional and rural areas have access to the resources that they need,” he said.
The upgrade comes after Freeman shot dead officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart-Hottart on August 26 last year.
Police officers attend the scene where fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead in Thologolong near Walwa in March. (AAP: James Ross)
The rifles are the same as those carried by specialist, Melbourne-based teams such as the Public Order Response Unit, the Critical Incident Response Team and the Special Operations Group, which carried out negotiations with Freeman before he was shot dead on March 30 after more than seven months on the run.
Access to long arms would also bring police in the Alpine region in line with other regional areas including Ballarat, Geelong, Morwell and Shepparton.
Commissioner Bush said officers involved in the deadly operation received constant support.
“There is no more traumatic incident for police than the brutal, cold-blooded murder of two of your officers and the serious injury of one other,”
he said.
Senior constables Vadim De Waart-Hottart and Neal Thompson were shot dead by Dezi Freeman in August 2025. (Supplied: Victoria Police)
Commissioner Bush said the third officer shot by Freeman who survived his injuries remained a member of the force, but his recovery was ongoing.
“He’s recovering physically well, but this was an extremely traumatic incident for everyone, it has a long tail so we have to ensure that our support to them continues, I think, forever.”
Detectives probing Freeman’s movements last week revealed they believed he travelled into New South Wales during his time on the run.
Several people have been arrested throughout the investigation and police have seized electronic devices from properties across northern Victoria and New South Wales.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush speaks at the scene where fugitive Dezi Freeman was shot dead. (AAP: James Ross)
Commissioner Bush said no charges had been laid so far against those arrested because investigators were gathering “technical, forensic evidence” to put before the court.
“We’re working our way towards charging those responsible for being complicit and harbouring him,” he said.
Bar wars key players still at large
Speaking about other key issues since he stepped into the top job last year, Commissioner Bush remained tight-lipped about any breakthroughs Operation Eclipse investigators had made in uncovering the masterminds of Melbourne’s bar wars, but said they were making “headway”.
“That’s probably the most important focus for us,” he said.
Commissioner Bush has remained tight-lipped about the initial findings of Operation Eclipse. (ABC News)
Figures from Victoria Police showed 43 of the 68 offenders so far charged over the spate of alleged firebombings, kidnappings and assaults targeting hospitality venues and promoters were children.
He said detectives were still exploring a range of potential motives behind the alleged attacks.
“It’s quite possible this is no more complex than extortion, [or a] protection racket,” he said.
Crime still too high, Commissioner says
Meanwhile, Commissioner Bush said Victoria’s crime rate had begun to flatten for the first time in several years, but that was “absolutely” not enough for the victims of fatal machete attacks, home invasions and other violent crimes.
“I’ve spoken to the families of some of those victims, it’s absolutely traumatising,” he said.
“We want to make sure that stuff never occurs again.“
The latest crime data showed criminal offences had decreased by 0.2 per cent in the past year to March.
Machete disposal bins have been placed at dozens of police stations across Victoria. (AAP: Joel Carett)
“We’ve set ourselves a target of reducing serious crime and harm by 5 per cent every year,” Commissioner Bush said.
“We’ve managed to plateau where we were before, that’s only a start.”
Recruitment rising
Commissioner Bush said his main priorities in the coming months would be driving down crime and making sure Victorians felt safe.
He said part of that was continuing to place more uniform officers back onto the streets by cutting out layers of bureaucracy and administrative work, as well as filling about 1,550 vacancies in the force.
Chief Commissioner Mike Bush says driving down crime rates remains a priority over the coming 12 months. (ABC News: Darryl Torpy)
Commissioner Bush estimated the force was receiving up to 200 applications from prospective members per week, and about 20 per cent of those were becoming new recruits, enough for one new squad every week.
“We really are there for the public and we want them to trust us to do our very best to be there,”
he said.
