Mon Sep 8

Tom Phillips shooting in NZ shows what police face with skilled and desperate fugitives

Written by: Ross Hendy, Lecturer in Criminology, Monash University

New Zealand police have tonight found two children, alone at a camp site in a remote location, after their fugitive father was shot dead during a burglary early on Monday morning.

The death of Tom Phillips came after almost four years on the run, hiding out in dense bush in the North Island’s western Waikato region.

Parallels have already been drawn with the ongoing search in Victoria for alleged police killer Dezi Freeman, who remains on the run and is believed to be hiding in old gold mine shafts ^[1] in the Victorian high country.

Like Phillips, Freeman is also a skilled bushman, has local knowledge and likely sympathetic support in and around the area.

Tom Phillips disappeared with his three school-age children – now nine, ten and 12 – just before Christmas 2021, following a dispute with their mother. Despite various possible sightings, police had until now been unable to find the group.

But at about 2.30am on Monday, police were called to a burglary ^[2] at a rural farm supply store near where the fugitive had been seen recently. Police believed the offenders to be Tom Phillips and one of his children, and deployed additional staff and a helicopter.

They used road spikes at an intersection the pair used to escape on a quad bike, and the fugitive fired multiple shots at the first attending police officer, causing serious injuries. A second police officer shot the offender, who died at the scene.

Attempts to apprehend

Phillips was wanted by police on charges including aggravated robbery, aggravated wounding and unlawful possession of a gun. But he managed to hide out in the wilderness with his children, relying on his bush craft and likely supported by some locals ^[3].

Like Freeman, Phillips chose to shoot his way out of legitimate and lawful attempts to bring them into custody. Their willingness to use lethal force to avoid apprehension creates life-and-death situations for those who are charged with the responsibility to bring them before the courts.

Their rejection of peaceful compliance also creates operational dilemmas for police. While standard police processes call for officers to contain an armed offender and appeal for surrender, offenders on the run who actively avoid apprehension present complications. Firearms obviously add a dangerous dynamic.

Having studied many shootings involving police officers in Australia, England and New Zealand ^[4], I can say many such events now tend to involve first-response officers rather than specialist squads. This suggests such incidents are becoming increasingly unpredictable.

The fatal encounter

At the time of Phillips’ disappearance, a custody dispute in the Family Court was ongoing and police were required to balance the welfare of the children, the requirement to enforce a court order, and the risks associated with taking parties into custody.

Police have consistently appealed for Phillips to surrender and engage with authorities regarding the custody dispute of his children. He has demonstrated a long history of avoidance and offending to support his evasion and his children’s survival.

The tragic end to this, and Phillips’ propensity to use lethal violence, show the depth of his conviction and his determination to evade capture. Photographs of the officer’s patrol car show it was shot at many times, suggesting Phillips’ mindset was not to resolve the matter peacefully.

It will take time for the sequence of events to be established, and rightly so. No doubt the second officer’s priority would have been to come to the aid of the injured officer, and to incapacitate the threat Phillips posed.

Police deployed the Special Tactics Group, the Armed Offenders Squad and the Police Negotiation Team to search for the remaining children. The use of these teams indicates police were concerned others may have been aiding or hiding them, but they were found alone at a camp, well and uninjured, and have been taken for medical checks.