Officers have been told not to blame themselves for the death of a retiring policeman as the manhunt for an alleged double murderer enters its third week.
Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, received a stirring send off on Monday after a deadly confrontation in Porepunkah, about 300km northeast of Melbourne, on August 26.
Family, friends and colleagues of the 38-year Victoria Police veteran, who was due to retire on September 5, poured their hearts out in a tear-jerking service.
His partner Lisa Thompson said he taught her how to love without fear and how to be brave when scared.
“Honey, I’m so grateful you did because I am scared,” the Benalla-based sergeant said.
“I don’t want to live my life without you and I don’t want to finish our dreams on my own. But I will, I promise.”
Leading Senior Constable Timothy Doyle said his great mate would have loved the fuss made in his memory.
“I can hear him, saying ‘you wouldn’t get the prime minister at your funeral, junior’,” he said to laughter.
Jason Williams, who met the keen fisherman, hunter and Essendon fan 25 years ago as detectives in the crime department, said his long-time friend knew the risks of policing.
“I say from the bottom of my heart to those who were with Thommo when this tragedy unfolded, never blame yourself for what happened,” he said.
“We know who to blame.”
The force is still coming to terms with the deaths of Det Sen Const Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, who died in the same incident and was farewelled on Friday.
A third officer was also wounded when 10 officers attempted to serve a warrant on the home of Dezi Freeman, a 56-year-old connected to the sovereign citizen movement.
Tuesday marks two weeks since the alleged gunman was last seen fleeing into bushland in Victoria’s high country.
Police believe Freeman might be receiving help from people within his network, offering a $1 million reward for information leading to his arrest.
More than 100 properties have been searched for the fugitive, with hundreds of officers still in the area trying to track him down.
“It is important to remind the community of the ongoing police operation in the local area while they search for a dangerous and armed gunman who has murdered two police and attempted to murder a third,” a Victoria Police spokeswoman told AAP.
Freeman’s eldest son, Koah, compared his father to Rambo, said he could survive weeks without food and offered his condolences to the fallen police officers’ families.
“We never wanted it to end like this,” he told the Herald Sun.
He described Mount Buffalo National Park, where Freeman was last seen, as a second home to his father.