Threat brings apology

‘‘The behaviour of the officer was not appropriate and I would like to offer a sincere apology from police for any stress this may have caused you.’’ Police wouldn’t divulge the outcome of the disciplinary action. Peri said he was ‘‘appalled’’ by the incident that had fuelled his distrust of the police, which began at 13 when he was accused of a crime he didn’t commit.

After he was let go he filmed all of his interactions with police. The officer in this instance didn’t care about his rights, he believed. ‘‘I was under the impression that he didn’t care at all.’’

Hiakita said she was proud of her son’s conduct in the footage, describing him as polite and articulate, but was disappointed in the officer.

She was satisfied with the apology but now understood why her son insisted on filming police interactions. ‘‘All the boys (in the car) co-operated and did what they were asked . . . There was no need to react the way he did.’’

Police Association president Chris Cahill said people filming police was ‘‘the reality of the world today’’ and police generally understood it. It became problematic if footage taken out of context was posted online, if officer safety was compromised, or if traumatic scenes were publicised.

In May police rebuked criticism of cellphone footage appearing to show an officer punching a teenager. ‘‘More often than not these videos will only show a portion of what has happened and . . . rarely show the full circumstances, such as our staff being assaulted,’’ Counties Manukau area commander Inspector Wendy Spiller said at the time.

Filming wasn’t necessarily a sign of respect, Cahill said, and police could become frustrated if they thought footage of them would be posted on social media. ‘‘In hindsight, I’m sure the police officer probably reflected on that . . . it wasn’t the best call.’’

Northland police conduct manager, acting Inspector Dan Cleaver, said the officer remained on duty. ‘‘Police (have) apologised to the individual concerned. Anecdotally, we are not aware of the matter of the filming of police officers being a significant issue for staff.’’

‘No wonder so many youth . . . have bad attitudes toward the police.’’ GEMMA HIAKITA

MALCOLM PULLMAN/STUFF Whakaari Peri, 16, with mother Gemma Hiakita, in Whangarei. They are unhappy at the behaviour of the police officer, above, who threatened to ‘‘write tickets’’ unless Peri stopped filming him.