Loved ones and colleagues of the second Victorian police officer killed in the line of duty last month have gathered to farewell the fallen hero.
About 3000 people attended the service for Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, at the Victoria Police Academy in Glen Waverley on Monday morning.
Busloads of colleagues from Wodonga, Benalla and Wangaratta were driven to the service which was also attended by Prime Minister Anthony Albanese, Premier Jacinta Allan and Police Minister Anthony Carbines.
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In an emotional tribute Neal’s partner Sergeant Lisa Thompson recalled the moment the pair first met in 2016 at the Wangaratta Police Station.
She said the first shift they worked together “changed the course of my life”.
“In just eight hours I learnt so much about him,” Thompson said.
“His passion for the Bombers, hunting, fishing, and catching crooks.
“As I drove home that night reflecting on my day I knew with absolute certainty that I wanted to be a detective too.”
Neal and Lisa’s paths crossed again a few years later when she went back to Wangaratta for a secondment and their love story began.
“Words cannot convey the depth of sorrow and grief that his loss brings,” Lisa said.
“I am grateful the last weekend I spent with Neal was our best.
“I don’t wanna live life without you and I don’t wanna finish our dreams on my own but I will, I promise. I will be brave, I will love you, I will honour you and cherish every moment that I spent with you.”
One of Neal’s sisters Lois Kirk said the day he joined the academy was one of their parents proudest moments.
He was their “golden boy” who could do no wrong, she said.
“He was lucky to have two families, the police family and ours,” Kirk said.
“But to us, he was just our big brother.
“You will always be our big brother. Rest in peace mate.”
Thompson joined the force in September 1987 and, after completing his training, spent seven years in general duties at Collingwood Police Station.
For the next decade, he worked as a detective at the Major Fraud Squad and the State Crime Squad, before taking up his most recent post at Wangaratta CIU in July 2007.
Thompson was an adventurer, loved the outdoors and was a fierce Bombers supporter.
He was due to retire from the force on September 5 after 38 years in the job.
Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim De Waart-Hottart were allegedly shot dead by Dezi Freeman in Porepunkah on August 26.
The pair were among a group of 10 officers executing a search warrant at a property when Freeman opened fire.
A third police officer was rushed to hospital, where he underwent emergency surgery for serious injuries to his lower body.
De Waart-Hottart was farewelled with full honours on Friday.
His parents also attended Neal’s funeral, as did the third officer who was seriously injured.
Following the mass, a police guard of honour was performed as well as a flyover by the Police Air Wing.
Both Neal and De Waart-Hottart were posthumously awarded the Victoria Police Star, the National Police Service Medal, National Medal and Victoria Police Service Medal.
Flags at police stations around the state will fly at half-mast on Monday to commemorate the fallen officers.
Freeman, 56, fled into nearby bushland following the shooting and has been on the run ever since.
Hundreds of specialist police and resources have been deployed to find the alleged killer, with police vowing to remain in the area until he is captured.
Speaking directly to Freeman in a media stand-up on Saturday, Detective Inspector Dean Thomas urged him to hand himself into a police station so that a safe surrender plan can be facilitated.
“You will not get away with this. If you are out there, you will be caught. It’s just about when and and we won’t stop until that occurs,” he said.
Also on the weekend police announced a reward of up to $1M for information about Freeman’s whereabouts that lead to his arrest.
The reward is the largest ever offered for an arrest in Victoria.
Thomas said it’s hoped the reward will coax anyone out in the community with any information to come forward.
The hunt for Freeman will only come to an end with assistance from members of the public, he said.
“This figure recognises the seriousness of this violent offending and our commitment to locating Freeman as soon as possible so that he is no longer a risk to the broader community,” Thomas said.
“Our aim in offering this reward is that it will lead someone out there, who may not have been willing to come forward until this time, to contact police.”
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