The scene of the shooting. Photo / Mike Scott
Two Waikato mayors have shared their “mixed emotions” after the four-year manhunt for Tom Phillips ended in a police standoff in the early hours of Monday morning.
Waitomo Mayor John Robertson said it was good to have come to “an end of what was a long saga”.
“[Monday] was tragic in the death of Tom, and the serious injury to the police officer, but the community has always been concerned about the health, safety, and adjustment of the children.”
He said it was a “huge relief” to see the children safe.
“I went through all those mixed emotions, and I think most people in the community did.”
Ōtorohanga Mayor Max Baxter had similar feelings, saying that when news first broke that Phillips had been shot dead, there were a lot of questions about why that outcome was necessary.
“But as the day progressed and the circumstances unfolded, it seemed like it was an inevitable consequence.”
Baxter said his community also had mixed emotions about this week’s events, but there was an “overwhelming sense of relief that the kids are now in care”.
“There’s obviously a lot of relief amongst the community that the kids are safe and sound, and they’ve got a long road to recovery, one would imagine.
“I’m not a psychologist, but I’m sure they’ve got a lot of changes to deal with.”
Phillips had been on the run since December 2021, when he disappeared with his three children from their family farm in Marokopa.
Jayda, Maverick and Ember were 8, 7 and 5 when they went into hiding. They are now 12, 10 and 9.
In the early hours of Monday, Phillips fled the scene of a burglary in Piopio on a quad bike with one of his children.
The child helped to lead police to their siblings after the death of their father and the shooting of a police officer.
Robertson and Baxter both wished the injured officer a speedy recovery.
Robertson corrected an earlier statement to make clear that he did not know the officer. However, he lauded him as a “very brave person”.
Baxter said he had reached out to the local police sergeant to give his best wishes for the officer’s recovery.
“Police do everything they can to protect our communities, and they’re our soccer mums and dads, the people that we walk with every day on the streets. Nobody wishes this on anybody.”
When Robertson found out about Phillips’ death, he said it was the “worst ending possible”, but knew there had always been the risk of Phillips being armed.
“I think in some ways, as this went on, year after year, it got more and more possible that [there] might not be a good outcome to it.
“Tom was getting, well, we don’t know his state of mind, but he was getting more and more determined to hide and keep the children, and allegedly robbing places.”
Baxter joined police in condemning those lauding Phillips as a hero.
“Tom’s a burglar, he was an armed robber, and he was a fugitive.
“[Everybody’s] thoughts in modern society is, you don’t take your kids through that sort of journey where you’re exposing them to burglaries and aggravated robberies. It’s not right.
“So a hero, no.”
However, he understood Phillips’ wish to “look after his kids and protect his kids”.
“That’s a father’s right. But his logic, we’ll never know.
“The rationale behind his decision-making, I’m not gonna try and determine what that was. He has his own headspace.”
Robertson said it was time to move on.
“I understand the different views there are in the community and around New Zealand on the matter of custody of the children.
“But now’s the time for us all to come together and support the children’s welfare going forward.
“Tom’s no longer there as a dad. We’ve just got to move on and do the best for the children.”
Malisha Kumar is a multimedia journalist based in Hamilton. She joined the Waikato Herald in 2023 after working for Radio 1XX in Whakatāne.