In a report released today, the Independent Police Conduct Authority has found that the fatal shooting of Thomas (Tom) Phillips by an officer on Monday 8 September 2025 was justified.

We recognise the significant public interest in this case and note there is a full public enquiry into the disappearance of Mr Phillips and his children. For that reason, our report is focused only on the events of 8 September, including the action taken by Police to locate Mr Phillips and the decision to shoot him.

At approximately 2.20am on 8 September, a member of the public saw Mr Phillips forcing entry into a warehouse in Piopio and called Police to report this.

Two rural officers (Officers A and B), acting separately, and then a tactical dog team (made up of Officers C and D) responded. Officer B secured himself in a favourable location and tracked Mr Phillip’s quad bike leaving Piopio and heading towards Marokopa. He then provided updates on his Police radio guiding Officer A to an intersection where he believed Mr Phillips was heading.

At the intersection, Officer A laid road spikes and retreated to a safe location. After hearing Mr Phillips run over the spikes, Officer A drove towards the spiked quad bike. As he rounded the corner, he saw Mr Phillips aiming a rifle at him. Mr Phillips shot at Officer A, who was struck twice and sustained near fatal injuries. Officer A briefly broadcast over the Police radio that he had been shot.

Officers C and D were close by and arrived within seconds. They saw Mr Phillips standing and pointing a rifle towards Officer A’s vehicle, which was directly in front of them. They could not see Officer A. Both say that, when Mr Phillips saw them arrive, he turned and pointed his rifle in their direction. In response, Officer D got out of the Police car and fired his rifle at Mr Phillips. He told us he did not give a voice appeal or warning as he did not believe there was time because Mr Phillips was already in a shooting position and appeared to be looking through the scope of his rifle at him.

The Authority found that Officer D was justified in shooting Mr Phillips in self-defence. We accept Officer D believed that Mr Philips had shot and likely killed Officer A and that Mr Phillips would kill or seriously injure him if he did not act immediately to prevent this.

We also found that officers provided appropriate aftercare to Mr Phillips. The pathologist report confirms that Mr Phillips sustained a non-survivable injury.

In considering the Police command and control of the incident, we identified shortcomings in the actions of the Emergency Communications Centre Shift Commander. However overall, we concluded Police responded quickly and frontline officers relied on their training to achieve an outcome in a volatile and dangerous situation. We have commended their actions.

Public Report