A South Australian man has been charged after a poster of Victorian fugitive Dezi Freeman was displayed at a March for Australia rally in Adelaide on Sunday.
The 39-year-old man handed himself in at a police station on Tuesday following investigations by detectives, police said.
The poster of alleged police killer Freeman was sighted in the crowd at the Adelaide rally.
Freeman, 56, is accused of fatally shooting Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson, 59, and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart, 35, and injuring a third officer last Tuesday while being served a warrant.
Freeman fled into dense bushland and remains at large. Police have deployed more than 450 officers to Victoria’s High Country, vowing to continue the search until he is found.
Alleged Porepunkah gunman Dezi Freeman.Credit: Marija Ercegovac
On Monday, South Australian police said they believed they had identified the individual responsible for holding up the poster, which drew widespread condemnation from politicians and retired police.
Acting Commissioner Linda Williams said officers were unable to locate the man at the time of the protest but had since identified him.
“This [Freeman] is a man who is wanted by Victoria Police for the shooting of two police officers whose families would no doubt have seen this image and would be likely distraught by what they have seen – as would every right-minded person – particularly every right-minded police officer,” Williams said.
“I can only underscore how outrageous that behaviour is on the face of it and that’s why we seek to locate this man and speak to him about the behaviour.”
After being interviewed, the man was charged with displaying offensive material in a public place. He has been bailed to appear in Adelaide Magistrates Court on October 28.