The son of a policewoman has launched civil court action against the state government after he was arrested near Shepparton and his family’s property raided by dozens of officers as part of the manhunt for alleged double murderer Dezi Freeman.
Jeremy Sloan, 32, and his partner, Sarah Naylor, 30, were pulled over near Shepparton on October 1 and arrested at gunpoint, before heavily armed police swooped on their parents’ remote property in Goomalibee, about 15 kilometres from Benalla.
Sloan’s father, Bryan, 63, was detained as police searched the family home for Freeman, while a police helicopter hovered above the property, according to a statement of claim filed in the Supreme Court of Victoria. Jeremy Sloan was later taken to Shepparton police station and interviewed.
The family was cleared of any association with Freeman, who has not been found since he allegedly shot dead Senior Constable Vadim de Waart-Hottart, 35, and Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, on August 26.
The officers involved in the arrests and raid, who are not named in court documents, are accused of assault, false imprisonment and failing to exercise reasonable care.
The three plaintiffs, Jeremy and Bryan Sloan and Naylor, will now pursue compensation, saying the incident caused significant psychological trauma. Jeremy Sloan’s mother, who is an officer with Victorian Police but was in Darwin at the time of the raid, is not a party to the proceeding.
Jeremy Sloan told this masthead that the raid had made life difficult for his mother.
“Mum is a serving member of Victoria Police, and this has not only affected her personally, but has made it extremely challenging for her to continue in an organisation she has always respected and stood by,” he said.
He said their ordeal began near the town of Undera, about 25 kilometres from Shepparton, where they were forced off the road by an unmarked police car.
Sloan was ordered at gunpoint to lie facedown and restrained with zip ties, before he was told by officers he was under arrest for harbouring a fugitive.
Sloan insists he has never met Freeman, has no association with the sovereign citizen movement and has no criminal record.
When he was returned to the family farm under police escort, Sloan realised the scale of the police response.
“We saw multiple ambulances, a helicopter and about 20 to 30 police vehicles,” he said.
“As we drove up the driveway, we were confronted by twisted, damaged gates, with no understanding of what had taken place. It was then that Sarah was told that they believed that Dezi Freeman was on our property.”
The family was exonerated the following day, but police failed to explain what prompted the raid, which attracted widespread media attention to the small town, which had a population of 91 people, according to the 2021 census.
Sloan said he recognised the need for police to respond quickly to dynamic situations, but disputes the accuracy of the intelligence they had relied on.
“We are seeking accountability, so that no one else has to endure what we have experienced,” Sloan said. “In that instant, I felt exposed in a way that is difficult to put into words, as though my sense of safety had been stripped away.”
Robinson Gill principal solicitor Jeremy King, who is representing the family, said he was baffled by the police’s handling of the matter.
“This is one of the strangest police operations I have seen in a long time,” King said. “This family still have no idea why they were arrested and why their property was raided.
“Given the scale and cost involved, you would think the police should have a clear justification for the operation, yet we’re still in the dark.”
A Victoria Police spokeswoman said the force had not been served with the writ.
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Disclaimer : This story is auto aggregated by a computer programme and has not been created or edited by DOWNTHENEWS. Publisher: www.smh.com.au
