Post by Deleted on Jan 10, 2013 12:05:11 GMT 10
Police deal with peeing perpetrator
By STACEY KIRK - Fairfax NZ News | 2:37PM - Thursday, 10 January 2013
VIRAL MOBILE PHONE FOOTAGE of police dealing with a man caught urinating out the window of a moving car highlights the scrutiny 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 case — where an officer called the young motorist a "dickhead" and repeatedly swore at him — is under investigation by the Independent Police Complaints 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. The video — viewed almost 45,000 times since it was posted on YouTube on January 2nd — shows the man absolutely busting to go to the toilet and barely able to hold on.
Eventually deciding there's only one thing for it, he relieves himself out the window as the car travels down Wellington's Centennial Highway. His friends hold his legs to keep him inside the car while the front seat passenger leans across the driver to get footage of the action going on outside the vehicle.
Showing a lack of nous or local knowledge, the group drives straight past a police base and is promptly pulled up.
Two police handling the incident are shown to be more than fair and warn the peeing perpetrator that "you're still really not allowed to get your dick out in public".
Mills said that, 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".
And what's good for the goose is good for the gander; Mills said the public's use of technology to film police was a "good thing", given many 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," Mills said.
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."
www.stuff.co.nz/national/8163458/Police-deal-with-peeing-perpetrator