Online video sparks Northland police conduct argument

A Whangārei man, who filmed officers de-escalating an incident involving a man with a weed eater, says police did everything right. Photo / supplied

An online video where a Northland police officer has been misheard addressing a man as a c*** was being wrongly used as anti-police ammunition, says the man responsible for the clip.

The nine-second video shows a man lying face down next to a weed eater on a Kamo Rd driveway in Whau Valley being approached by two officers with tasers. One of the officers addresses the man using the word "cuz".

The Northern Advocate believes the officer's conduct has come under scrutinty as an investigation is planned to determine whether he said cuz or c***, as claimed in a complaint to Northland police.

The clip's owner, a Whangārei man who did not want to be named, blamed "cognitive dissonance" for people ignoring his first-hand account of the officers' attempts to calm the man allegedly brandishing a weed eater at police.

"When you get given ammunition you don't want to give it away," he said. "Even when I said 'I was there, he said cuz' they argued with me. You can't change the minds of people who've already decided they don't like police."

The man was on the way to the gym when he spotted another man walking down Kamo Rd carrying a weed-eater around 9.30pm on Wednesday.

Thinking it was a situation that could get a few laughs online, he decided to take a short clip and later posted it on a private Facebook page with more than 17,000 followers.

Before he started filming officers had pulled over, left their vehicle, and asked the man trying to start his weed eater if he was alright, 'cuz', he said.

"The guy started pointing the weed eater at the police. It's a metre-and-a-half-long weapon – they could've got hurt," the man said. "It was a textbook takedown. The police were doing a good job that night."

Negativity aimed at police stemming from the video disappointed the man who posted it, as he says had no intention to fuel those attitudes.

"It was just for a laugh because there was a dude walking the road with a weed eater."

Police have been contacted for comment, but had not responded by edition time.