Slain Victoria police officers remembered as memorial is unveiled on first anniversary eve
WANGARATTA, Australia — Families, colleagues and friends gathered on Tuesday to honour two Victoria police officers killed during a warrant operation in the state’s alpine region, as a memorial to them was unveiled outside Wangaratta police station one day before the first anniversary of the attack.
Hundreds turned out in the cold under dark clouds to remember Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 34. Their deaths on Aug. 26, 2025, shook Victoria Police and drew tributes from across the state.
A place to remember
Victoria Police Chief Commissioner Mike Bush unveiled the memorial at the station. The tribute was designed around two life-sized stone pillars, with stone hand-selected to symbolise what police described as the officers’ lasting memory.
“At its heart rise two life-sized stone pillars. The stone was hand-selected and represents the everlasting memory of our two mates standing in silent strength,” Detective Senior Sergeant Mick Drew said during the service.
He said the pillars reflect “the two very different lives that Neal and Vadim had experienced when they came together.”
Short. Plain. Heavy.
How the killings unfolded
The pair were killed, and a third officer was injured, while police were executing a warrant for Dezi Freeman’s arrest in Porepunkah, in Victoria’s alpine region. The case left a lasting mark on the force and on the communities connected to the officers.
Tuesday’s gathering brought together relatives, friends and fellow officers from across the state, many of them returning to a grief that has not faded with time. The anniversary came only a day before the killings reached a year, sharpening the sense of loss.
Grief that crossed ranks and regions
The ceremony outside the Wangaratta station was both public and personal. For some, it was a chance to stand among colleagues. For others, it was a way to mark a date they never wanted to see again.
Across Australia, police memorials often serve the same purpose: to give a fixed place for mourning after fatal attacks on officers in the line of duty. This one now stands in a regional station yard, where the memory of two officers has been carved into stone.
The anniversary was also a reminder that the work which brought Thompson and de Waart-Hottart to Porepunkah ended in violence, and that their names will now remain part of Victoria Police’s formal remembrance. The next public moments of mourning will likely come with the station memorial itself, as colleagues and family return to it in the months ahead.
