The town of Porepunkah in the Australian state of Victoria, with a population of just over 1,000, was thrust into global headlines after the fatal shooting of two police officers by local man Dezi Freeman last August and the subsequent manhunt. This manhunt, one of the largest in Australian police history, ended on Monday when officers shot Freeman dead following a three-hour stand-off at a property about two hours' drive north of Porepunkah.
In the town where Freeman had lived with his family, few residents were willing to speak on the record. Those who spoke to the BBC and other outlets expressed a range of emotions: relief bordering on happiness, hope that the town might now begin to recover, and anger at what it has endured. One resident told the BBC the town had been “ruined” by the media spotlight. However, Marcus Warner, a long-time search-and-rescue volunteer and the region's chamber of commerce president, said the overwhelming feeling is sorrow.
Victoria's Alpine region is home to a very small, close-knit community, where both the Freeman family and the slain officers Neal Thompson and Vadim de Waart were well-known. Warner said of Monday morning's stand-off, which came a month after police claimed they believed Freeman to be dead: “There was a degree of shock to hear that had happened and it didn't take very long then for a wave of sadness to fall.” He added: “To some degree it's a weight lifted off our shoulders. We feel we can breathe again. Obviously there's still a long healing process, emotionally, psychologically, economically – a lot of the financial losses will never be recovered.”
In a social media post, Freeman's eldest son Koah said he was struggling to watch some people celebrate his dad's death while his family grieved. He wrote on a local community noticeboard: “I am not here to defend my father's actions because I know what he did was wrong. Just bear in mind that to you [he] was a cop killer, but to me that's still my father who raised me.” He asked people to have empathy for his family and said he is now focused on helping them find peace.
Warner admitted that the attention of the media, public scrutiny over reported pockets of conspiracy theorists in the town, and repeated police protestations that people in the region must be helping Freeman have created some angst in the community. But he said they remain united: “What you read online versus what I hear and see each day in our community are poles apart. There are some people with polarising views, but I would say you could count them on one hand. We're a population of several thousand up here.” He hopes the community's strong ties will help those affected, including Freeman's family, to recover.
Alpine Shire Mayor Sarah Nicholas had a similar message: reach out for support. In a statement, she said: “Our community has been deeply affected by these recent events, which have had a significant impact on many individuals and families. We will be doing everything we can to continue supporting our community through this difficult time.”
Meanwhile, Freeman's former neighbours, named only as Richard and Bianca, told Channel Nine's “A Current Affair” programme that the 54-year-old's death would mean “less anxious nights” for them. Even so, Richard said they would “have liked it to end a different way”. He added: “But he [Dezi] had to account for his actions. It means we can forget about it. It's not a happy story.”
In the neighbouring town of Bright, just 6km away, business owner Balin Foley hoped the end of the manhunt might now allow the area to rebuild its tourism industry, which had been hit hard. Foley, 33, told the Herald Sun: “That'll take a little bit of time because people are going to remember it for the next couple of years. It was a big event that happened, but I think there's enough good things that happen around the town that will overshadow it eventually.”
Further away, friends of the dead officers were remembering the men they had lost and speaking of their relief that Freeman had been found. Peter D'Mello, a friend of de Waart, told The Age it was “bittersweet” that Freeman met the same fate as the two officers he killed in the line of duty. John Bird, a friend of Thompson's, told ABC it brought a “finalisation” to the case. Bird said: “It doesn't bring Thommo back or anything like that, but now there's less talk about it.”
Source: www.bbc.com