Officer in abuse video no longer with police

AUCKLAND: An officer under investigation after a Snapchat video emerged of a man being subject to verbal abuse no longer works for New Zealand Police, The New Zealand Herald has revealed.

The video shows what appears to be a man handcuffed in the back of a police car.

Someone is sitting next to him in the back seat filming and a man can be heard verbally abusing him, commenting on his weight and suggesting he selfharm.

‘‘Why don’t you just f***ing kill yourself you piece of sh*t,’’ he is heard saying at one stage.

It’s understood the video was posted to an officer’s Snapchat account, a year after it happened.

Police launched an investigation in March and referred it to the Independent Police Conduct Authority.

While they could not comment on the outcome of the investigation due to ‘‘privacy reasons’’, police said the officer involved no longer works for them.

Counties Manukau District commander superintendent Jill Rogers said the incident occurred in early February 2020, after police were called to a family harm incident in Counties Manukau where a pregnant woman was assaulted.

‘‘A male in his late 30s was arrested, charged and pled guilty to charges of assault with intent to injure and contravening a protection order. He was subsequently sentenced to nine months’ imprisonment.’’

The Herald was sent the video by a concerned member of the public after it was reshared on Snapchat, more than a year after it was originally posted.

At the time a spokeswoman initially said police were unaware of the video or the circumstances surrounding it, but were making immediate inquiries ‘‘given the seriousness of the situation’’.

She said at the time the behaviour was completely unacceptable and if it was confirmed a police officer was involved, it would be extremely disappointing.

‘‘Our officers do this job because they want to help people and keep them safe,’’ she said.

‘‘This video is not a representation of that and to say the behaviour is not in line with our values would be an understatement.’’