Belinda FeekOpen Justice multimedia journalist, Waikato·NZ Herald·19 Aug, 2026 10:28 PM2 mins to read‌Tom Phillips disappeared with his three young children for nearly four years in December 2021 before being shot in a stand-off with police in September last year.Police were justified in shooting wanted fugitive Tom Phillips deep in the Waitomo bush last year, a decision has ruled.Phillips was shot dead after a confrontation with Waikato police on Te Anga Rd, between Te Kūiti and Marokopa.

He had been on the run since December 2021 when