Victoria Police honor officers killed in Porepunkah tragedy

A permanent monument will be unveiled at the Wangaratta Police Station to honor Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, who were fatally shot in Porepunkah, Victoria, on March 30, 2025.

The officers were killed while executing an arrest warrant at a secluded property. The subsequent manhunt for the suspect, Dezi Freeman, became the largest tactical policing operation in Australian history. Freeman was eventually found and fatally shot by police seven months later in Thologolong after emerging from a shipping container holding a police-issued handgun.

Wayne Gatt, secretary of the Police Association Victoria, stated that the tragedy has left lasting psychological wounds on the force, noting that many officers involved will never be the same. The memorial service in Wangaratta precedes the one-year anniversary of the killings.