Two Waitemata police officers have been investigated for allegedly smoking cannabis which they had seized from a member of the public.
The two officers allegedly exchanged text messages discussing smoking the cannabis while on duty.
Results of an internal investigation by police have not been released publicly.
The investigation was overseen by the Independent Police Conduct Authority. In a brief statement on its website, the IPCA said no evidence of criminal offending was found.
An employment investigation was also undertaken which resulted in “an appropriate outcome”.
No details were provided on what that “appropriate outcome” was.
Waitemeta District Commander, Superintendent Naila Hassan said the officers had been spoken to.
“As the summary states, there was no evidence of criminal offending. The two officers in this case took part in an unprofessional text message exchange and were spoken with,” she said.
Shannon Parker runs the New Zealand Police Conduct Association, which advocates on behalf of victims of police misconduct. She said the lack of details released from the investigation was “bizarre”.
“All of this is criminal. Why can’t we know the result?” Parker said.
“It’s absolutely astonishing. It's unbelievable. I want to know if they’re still employed.”
Police have confirmed the two officers are still employed.
The allegations raised questions about the police officers’ ethics, Parker said.
“Smoking and having cannabis is illegal... This is a criminal matter. Just because what you have is illegal, doesn’t make it lawful for [police] to take it and use (or keep it) himself.”
The publicly released outcomes of internal police investigations are normally short on detail, but Parker said more needed to be known about this case.
“I think it’s really weird that the IPCA released this without any information. The public report should have more information – what are they explaining to us? Which part of the claim has been investigated?”
Cannabis is a Class C drug in New Zealand. The maximum penalty for possession is three months’ jail or a fine of up to $500, or both.
