Complaint about Whangārei officer filmed allegedly swearing upheld by police and watchdog

Northland police have spoken to an officer filmed using "unprofessional" language during an arrest. Photo / Supplied

A Northland police officer at the centre of an online video that sparked a fierce debate about whether he had used unprofessional language has had a complaint against him upheld.

The nine-second video filmed on February 3 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 with a word that viewers debated was "cuz" or "c***".

The video's publication on a private Facebook page with more than 17,000 followers resulted in a complaint from Whangārei resident Fraye Dunbar to the Northland police and Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA).

Dunbar said she had just finished reading an article about the IPCA's ruling that Northland police had used excessive force against Whakaari Peri, 17 at the time, when she spotted the video which made her think "enough is enough".

"These young cops these days just speak to people terribly. It needs to stop."

Northland district commander Superintendent Tony Hill said they had promptly assessed the complaint and spoken to the officer involved.

"They have been reminded about our expectations for staff set out in the police values."

A spokeswoman for the IPCA said they had agreed the language the officer used was unprofessional.

But the IPCA was satisfied with how police had addressed the matter and opted to take no further action against the officer.

Shannon Parker, of the New Zealand Police Conduct Association, said she was pleased to learn Northland police had taken the complaint seriously.

"Being spoken to like that is inappropriate and unprofessional and doesn't induce compliance nor does it inspire people to engage with police," Parker said.

Dunbar said a letter she received from the IPCA informing her of the complaint's outcome had her baffled.

"The IPCA wrote to me but didn't say what had happened, all I got told was, 'while we do not condone the use of unprofessional language, we are satisfied police have addressed this appropriately with the officer and will take no further action'."

She said more details should be given in these circumstances so a complainant is clear on what has and has not happened. She was yet to hear back from Northland police.

Because the matter was dealt with via a confidential employment process no further details were made available by police or the IPCA.

"I hope this cop has learnt something from this," Dunbar said.

The Whangārei man responsible for the clip did not want to be identified but said he was dismayed at the negative attitude towards police generated by the video.

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

The man said he was convinced the officer had said "cuz".