Dezi Freeman’s friends lash out at police and accuse them of staging a calculated stunt in their desperate bid to catch the fugitive

Friends of accused double cop killer Dezi Freeman have lashed out at police, claiming the dramatic arrests of his wife and teenage son were a calculated stunt to bait the fugitive out of hiding.

Freeman, 56, vanished into the wilderness on Tuesday after allegedly ambushing police at his rural property in Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne.

Two officers were gunned down and a third seriously wounded as ten police arrived at the property to serve a warrant linked to historic child sex abuse charges.

Since then, a huge manhunt involving helicopters, drones and more than 450 officers has combed the unforgiving terrain in Victoria’s High Country.

But with no sign of the gunman after eight days, police have been accused of resorting to extreme tactics.

On Thursday night, Freeman’s wife Amalia, 42, and their 15-year-old son were taken into custody after Fugitive Squad detectives and the Special Operations Group ordered them to leave a Porepunkah property.

Neighbours reported officers yelling at the pair to ‘come out with their hands up’ with one snapping a photo showing Ms Freeman barefoot on the roadside, clutching a toddler as she spoke to police.

Friends now believe the arrests were designed for maximum publicity to make an example of the Freemans.

‘It’s to stir Dezi up and to try and make him angry so he makes a mistake,’ one friend told Daily Mail. 

‘But Mali witnessed a double killing and she is absolutely traumatised.

‘She went to the station, she gave the police her phone and she helped them with all their questions.

‘The arrest is just so they are seen to be doing something publicly.’ 

Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush confirmed on Friday that Ms Freeman and her son had been arrested hours earlier and while the pair were released without charge, he hinted their ordeal may not be over.

‘There were search warrants executed last night, people were interviewed totally and specifically in relation to the homicide investigation,’ he said.

‘Those searches have been completed, the interviews conducted, those people have been released. There may or may not be charges that follow.’

In a shock update on Monday afternoon, Superintendent Brett Kahan gave a cryptic comment about Ms Freeman. 

‘Speaking to police and cooperating is two different things,’ he said.

‘We would invite full cooperation with police in respect to this double murder investigation. If people such as the fugitive’s wife (Amalia) aren’t giving us full cooperation, I would encourage her to do so.’

But friends have slammed the claims and believe police are growing desperate as each day passes with no seemingly concrete leads. 

‘Mali is a loyal wife, but she is so angry with what Dezi has done and she would never support this,’ one said. 

‘She is in deep shock and so afraid. She is a mum with a baby to look after and Dezi won’t fall for it.

‘We are all angry with him, but I honestly don’t know if she will ever recover from this.

‘If he is alive, he needs to contact the police and stop being so selfish.’

On Tuesday, Supt Kahan admitted investigators were now relying on the public for tips about Freeman’s whereabouts.

He said it was clear that ‘people know’ where the fugitive is hiding but are deliberately staying silent.

‘People know the whereabouts of the person who’s allegedly killed two cops,’ he said.

‘People have chosen, for whatever reason, not to come forward, and I’m taking this time to appeal to you to come forward in that respect.’

Police activity has ramped up in the area with gun-toting tactical cops and sniffer dogs out in force on Tuesday.

Police claim they received a ‘remarkable’ amount of information from locals after setting up a public information caravan in the town of Bright.

Supt Kahan also said additional police will join the 450-strong force tasked with tracking down Freeman.

He also hasn’t ruled out issuing a public reward for information, the ABC reported.

‘It’s an avenue that we will explore,’ Supt Kahan said.

‘All I say is that the number of police in the area is increasing at the end of the week (since the shooting).

‘So instead of decreasing our commitment to this, we’re increasing, and we’ll continue to throw the full arm of Victoria Police towards the search for this armed fugitive.’

Supt Kahan reiterated his officers’ commitment to tracking down Freeman.

‘I hear all the time that Dezi is a master of navigating the bush,’ he said.

‘But I’d like to say Victoria Police are pretty good at it too. So the hunt will continue until we find him.’