Photo: RNZ / Angus Dreaver
Police say officers can make mistakes after the independent watchdog found the use of force on two men arrested after giving officers the finger unjustified.
Officers had been speaking to an intoxicated man in central Auckland who had yelled at them, gesturing offensively as they drove past in May 2022.
An officer pushed the man backwards before arresting him for disorderly behaviour.
As they drove past after the arrest, the man's friend, who had been filming the altercation, also gave police the finger.
The officers stopped and arrested him.
The pair were given formal warnings and released without charge.
The Independent Police Conduct Authority (IPCA) alerted police after a complaint, prompting them to investigate and charge the officer who pushed the man with assault.
The officer pleaded guilty in the Auckland District Court in October 2023 and was discharged without conviction.
He was ordered to pay the man reparations of $500 and remains a member of the police force.
The IPCA and police agreed the warnings and arrests for both men were unjustified, and had them removed from the police database.
Acting Superintendent Sunny Patel said officers do make mistakes from time to time given the difficult, and at times confrontational, nature of their work.
"While it was a very low level of force used, the officer should not have pushed the man and their behaviour at that incident was at odds with the high standards we expect of our staff who do an incredibly challenging job," he said.