By Sam Sherwood of RNZ
A member of the police’s media team told a documentary crew about the incident that led to Tom Phillips’ death at least an hour before family were notified, RNZ has revealed.
Police have apologised in person to the family and said the decision was “ill-advised”.
Phillips died following a shootout with police after they were called to reports of a burglary in September 2025.
It was earlier revealed a film crew from Dunedin-founded NHNZ Productions had been following the hunt for fugitive Phillips and his children for more than a year, gaining exclusive access to the investigation.
In response to an Official Information Act (OIA) request from RNZ’s Mata, police refused to say when the Phillips family and the mother of the children were notified about the incident. However, RNZ understands his family was not told until after 7.30am, and the mother was not told until after 8am.
Police did confirm a media statement was published on its website at about 7.15am notifying that police were responding to a “serious incident in Western Waikato”.
“Subsequent announcements confirmed that Tom Phillips had been fatally shot during the incident.”
Police also confirmed its director of media and strategic communications notified the CEO of the documentary production crew of the “critical incident” by text at about 6.15am.
RNZ asked police why the documentary crew were informed before relatives, and what the text message said.
Acting Deputy Commissioner Jill Rogers said it was only recently brought to her attention that a member of the crew was informed of the critical incident prior to family members.
“I became aware of the timing as a result of the OIA being compiled.”
She said it was “very regrettable and is not the way police usually handle such matters”.
“Wherever possible, family are always advised first. This did not meet our standards and NZ police executive director media communications Cas Carter has apologised in person on behalf of NZ police to the family members for this.”
Police on the investigations team working on the Phillips’ case were not aware of or involved in the decision to advise the documentary crew at the time, Rogers said.
“That was done by way of text message from a member of the police media and communications team.
“Those communications are currently being considered for release as part of separate OIA requests and those processes must be completed.”
Rogers said the message informed a member of the documentary crew there had been a critical incident relating to Tom Phillips.
“While it was ill-advised, the staff member who sent it has been the main point of contact for the documentary crew and did not act with any bad intent. It was done as part of the agreement and working relationship in place between police and the production company.
“While the documentary production company has a contractual relationship with NZ Police which included strict conditions, I acknowledge in this instance the notification of the event to media and the documentary team should have been made at the same time.
“We again offer our apologies to the family members.”
The documentary makers’ “access agreement” – earlier released to RNZ under the OIA – outlined exactly what the filmmakers and police signed up to back in March last year.
Filmmakers got exclusive opportunities to view evidence, and attend and record police briefings, meetings and operations over the course of the year.
In exchange for this access, the police retained extensive control over the documentary project.
Details from the documentary’s final proposal:
The contract gave authorities the right to preview any broadcast and require edits or removals on a range of grounds including security, sensitivity, privacy and relevant court orders.
The police also hold veto rights over replays or altered versions of the documentary, and the right to terminate filming access at any time.
Grounds for termination include the producer breaching any term of the access agreement and failing to remedy the breach within five working days.
The contract said if a breach cannot be remedied, including where the producer or their staff disobey a police direction, authorities can terminate the agreement without notice.
The film-makers could not use any material recorded for the documentary for any other purpose whatsoever, unless authorised by the police in writing.
The agreement also stated the filmmakers could not use photos of the children, with the exception of those already published in the media, without permission from their legal guardian and the police.
These provisions all exist within the context of heavy suppression orders made by the Family Court that remain in place today.
The producers’ employees, agents and contractors all had to be vetted by the police, and the producer signed off on liability limited to $1 million for the documentary.
The contract was signed by the police and Dunedin-based NHNZ Worldwide, in partnership with London-based Grain Media, on March 20, 2025.
It was expected the documentary would be broadcast in 2027, though this was subject to court proceedings.
- RNZ