A man has been arrested after brazenly brandishing a poster glorifying alleged cop killer Dezi Freeman at an Adelaide rally – a stunt condemned by police, politicians and former officers as “disgraceful” and “despicable”.
The 39-year-old from Golden Grove handed himself in at Grenfell Street police station, where he was charged with displaying offensive material in a public place and offensive behaviour. He is due to face Adelaide Magistrates Court on October 28.
The poster, showing Freeman’s face above the words “free man”, was held aloft during Sunday’s March for Australia anti-immigration rally. Photos show the man draped in an Australian flag, grinning behind sunglasses, as the crowd swelled around him.
Freeman, 42, remains a fugitive in Victoria’s northeast after allegedly gunning down Senior Constable Vadim De Waart and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson in a shocking double police murder near Porepunkah on August 26. The father-of-two fled into dense bushland, triggering one of the state’s most intense manhunts in decades.
The decision to glorify the alleged killer has triggered widespread outrage. Acting Police Commissioner Linda Williams called the sign “offensive, disgraceful, and outrageous”, while Premier Peter Malinauskas branded it “despicable”, slamming the rally for attracting extremists and Nazi sympathisers.
“What sort of protest is this if there are national socialists – Nazis – present and other people celebrating alleged cop killers?” Mr Malinauskas said. “It’s disgusting.”
Former homicide detective Alex Krstic, who once worked alongside Constable Thompson, described the display as “obscene” and “brutal”. “Anybody who sides with these wackos and fringe dwellers … it’s just disgraceful,” he told Today.
The controversy comes as Victoria Police warn that Freeman may be receiving help from sympathisers. Superintendent Brett Kahan issued a blunt warning: “People know the whereabouts of the person who has killed two cops. You are committing an extremely serious crime by harbouring or assisting in the escape of Dezi Freeman.”
For grieving families, police colleagues, and the wider community, the poster was more than a sick stunt; it was a slap in the face.
Images: X, ABC News
