Dezi Freeman was angry that his driver’s licence and gun permit had been taken away.

He saw it as a threat to his life and his family, who lived together in an off-grid van.

“I need my licence so that I can drive without being assaulted, violated or shot by police. I need to drive for a litany of reasons. Practically, everything I do revolves around the ability to exercise my right to travel, the ability to carry goods and people, especially my family members,” he wrote in an affidavit for a court.

“Given my particular situation, location, history and culture, it’s almost like asking why I need to breathe, eat or walk.”

On Tuesday, Freeman, born Desmond Filby, is alleged to have ambushed and shot dead Detective Leading Senior Constable Neal Thompson and Senior Constable Vadim de Waart, who approached his door to serve a warrant. A third officer was wounded in the ambush and taken by helicopter to The Alfred hospital in Melbourne.

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Freeman took off for the bush and has not been seen since, sparking a massive manhunt.

In the articulate documents, which referenced legislation to support his argument, Freeman did not hide his contempt for police.

It was the middle of 2024 and the 56-year-old father was four years into fighting a two-year licence suspension after being intercepted for speeding 16 kilometres over the limit, using a mobile phone while behind the wheel and refusing a roadside drug test.