Anthony Albanese has revealed his honest response to the death Australia’s most wanted man, Dezi Freeman admitting his first thought was “good”.
Speaking of his devastating experience speaking with the colleagues of the two police officers he shot – 59-year-old Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and 34-year-old Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart – Mr Albanese admitted he didn’t shed a tear.
Asked what his initial reaction was to news of the killer’s death, Mr Albanese responded he thought, “Good.”
In response, ABC Melbourne radio host Raf Epstein asked on Tuesday, “I appreciate the depth of that emotion. PM, but is it really good when anyone is killed despite their crimes?.”
“This guy. I just don’t have any sympathy for him. That’s my position,” Mr Albanese responded.
“He always was going to be brought to justice. And it’s clear that he was always going to fight it out.
“So, you know, he made the decision to murder these police, police officers, and he made the decision to try to fight it out and to not give himself up or go through a legal process.”
Mr Albanese said responsibility for the fallout lay with the late killer.
“That’s a decision that rests solely with Dezi Freeman, and … the mentality of the sovereign citizens,” he said.
“The head of ASIO has made very clear warnings about what this ideology represents. They don’t respect any processes. They regard the police and government and our entire society is not being legitimate, and they place themselves outside it, and they represent a risk to others, and Dezi Freeman’s ideology led him to murder in cold blood to police officers.
“I will never, I hope, be in a room with so many tough, hardened people who are distraught.
“It was just so sad, and at the end of this saga, the thing that I remember is the sacrifice of those police officers and the fact that our police put themselves in danger each and every day in order to keep us safe.”
Freeman was shot by police shortly after 8.30am on Monday in a shipping container at a rural property in Victoria’s northeast.
Police said the shooting occurred after a stand-off with Freeman, which lasted for “several hours”.
Victoria Chief Police Commissioner Mike Bush said he was very comfortable officers acted appropriately after seeing the footage.
“It’s quite clear to us now that the deceased was given every opportunity to resolve this peacefully, and did not take that option,” he said.
“I have seen video of the deceased leaving the building and presenting a firearm at our officers.
“That action took away any discretion our officers had to resolve this peacefully, of course, having said that the independent investigation will look at all aspects.
“We tried everything possible, every tactical option that we have, to encourage the deceased to end this in a safe and peaceful manner. They weren’t taken.
“I won’t go into what those tactics were, but I can assure you that they were applied.”
