The Man with the Dezi Freeman Poster

At the Adelaide March for Australia on the 29^th of August 2025, a man held a poster with the face of alleged police killer Dezi Freeman along with the words ‘Free Man’. Within days, he would be arrested by South Australian police and charged with the vague offence of ‘displaying offensive material in a public place’. This raises a variety of issues.

The offence of ‘displaying offensive material in a public place’ is very vague and gives the government, government institutions and even powerful special interest groups broad scope to punish people for speech that it does not like or is unpopular.

What makes this case particularly concerning is that the deemed ‘offensive speech’ wasn’t political or expressing a political stance, but referred to a specific individual. And that individual is merely accused of a crime, not convicted.

Can the government now decide a person is inherently problematic and any speech regarding that person is a crime whether or not they have been convicted of a crime?

I believe being able to express support for someone who is accused or even convicted of a crime, even if the crime is heinous, is important not just for freedom of expression but also for the pursuit of justice and truth.

The government shouldn’t be able to create unchallenged narratives about people. As I write, Dezi Freeman is in hiding and the only information known about his actions is what Victoria Police have told the public. We are yet to hear his side of the story.

To be clear, I do not condone violence other than self-defence, and I am not convinced the Porepunkuh shooting was a genuine act of self-defence. From the information I know about the guy, I doubt we would get along.

I may not be a sympathiser, but I would not be the least bit surprised if the Victorian Police had engaged in some sort of misconduct or violated his rights at some point. Especially during Covid lockdowns.

I’ve been told by a variety of people that the South Australian Police will arrest you, the New South Wales Police will beat you, and the Victorian Police will both beat you and arrest you. My point is that Victorian Police have a reputation for violence and corruption, and not just because of their conduct towards protesters and the public during the Covid pandemic.

This reputation extends back to the 1800s where the Victorian Police targeted Ned Kelly, the Kelly family and the Irish community, to more recent incidents including the Lawyer X Scandal, an incident where Victoria Police beat, tormented and filmed a vulnerable pensioner (and weren’t immediately fired), and an incident where an officer of the drug squad doctored DNA and handwriting which led to false charges and more.

(Footage of the mistreatment of a vulnerable pensioner by Victoria Police)

(Yes, they are spraying a handcuffed man in the face with a hose and filming it)

I am not saying anything about the Victorian Police officers who were killed in the encounter with Dezi Freeman -there isn’t currently much information about them. Regardless, I do think there needs to be transparency regarding the dealings of Victoria Police with him (and in general). If there is bodycam footage, it should be released.

Especially given various state government and interest groups are using the incident to advocate for a crackdown on people and groups that are critical of the police and government. Incidents such as the arrest of the man with the Dezi Freeman poster are only the beginning of this.

At this very moment, politicians will be writing legislation that further empowers and emboldens police and the government to engage in state sanctioned violence and further erode freedom of expression and civil liberties. The incident has also created an environment where it is now less socially acceptable to criticise police and the government, which can only lead to less accountability for misconduct and corruption.