The Dominion Post
WELLINGTON, New Zealand — Viral mobile phone footage of police dealing with a man caught urinating out the window of a moving car highlights the scrutiny that officers are now under, the Police Association says.
“There has always been that level of scrutiny,” association vice-president Stuart Mills said, “but police are very much aware of the presence of smartphones now.”
There have been two cases in the past month where police have had to pull over drivers on the road and the occupants of the cars have recorded them.
The first, during which an officer called a young motorist a “dickhead” and repeatedly swore at him, is under investigation by the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
The latest recording was filmed by a front-seat passenger in a car full of young men, one of whom was writhing in agony with a full bladder.
Eventually he relieved himself out the window as the car travelled down Wellington’s Centennial Highway. The front-seat passenger leant across the driver to record the action.
The car drove straight past a police base and was pulled up.
The two officers were shown to be more than fair, warning the peeing perpetrator that “you’re still really not allowed to get your dick out in public”, Mr Mills said.
Although the language might be a bit rough, the officers were relating to the men well and “hopefully they would remember the treatment they got from those officers when they next thought about doing something that silly”.
Mr Mills said the public’s use of technology to film police was a “good thing” because recordings could also be used by police as evidence.
“For example, in cases of school bullying and those sorts of things, it’s is now much easier to find out exactly what has happened because a member of the public has caught the entire thing.”
Police spokesman Grant Ogilvie said the possibility of being filmed or recorded was just “part of the modern policing environment” and officers were aware of it.
“They have always worked under the scrutiny of the public and advancements in recording technology is just an extension of that scrutiny.
“Our staff work to the highest professional standards and the possibility of being filmed does not alter how they conduct themselves while going about their lawful duty.”
In the end, the Wellington men in the car escaped penalty.
“They [police] came up and said this is not on. They said, ‘Right, we can’t arrest you for this’, . . . so aside from a bit of banter with them they let us away,” the man who had urinated said on a subsequent YouTube post.
Copyright 2013 Wellington Newspapers Limited