Police are praising a dog handler's "brave actions" after footage of an arrest in Whangārei went viral.
The video, shared to Facebook on Sunday, shows a man being arrested by officers with the help of a police dog. Screams can be heard as the barking dog appears to attack the alleged offender.
The footage has been heavily condemned on Facebook, with a number of locals expressing outrage at the apparent use of excessive force. Comments on the video have labelled the arrest as "brutal" and "disturbing".
But police say they "commend the brave actions displayed by the dog handler", and have charged the bitten man with several offences.
The incident began early on Sunday morning when the dog handler was patrolling a high crime-risk area in the suburb of Otangarei and spotted a suspicious vehicle.
The driver allegedly failed to stop and was pursued to William Jones Drive, where the officer managed to block the vehicle in.
Police say the two occupants refused to exit the vehicle and appeared to be reaching for weapons inside the vehicle, so the officer pepper-sprayed them.
The driver fled the scene and was caught by the dog handler with the help of their police dog, who bit the man's arm. He then continued to resist arrest while on the ground.
Once he was safely apprehended, police say he was given immediate medical assistance for his dog bites.
Police say a "quantity" of methamphetamine and weapons - including a machete - were found in the vehicle.
The driver, a 31-year-old man already wanted for arrest, has been charged with offences including failing to stop, driving while disqualified, refusing to give blood specimen and possession of an offensive weapon.
His passenger faces methamphetamine charges as well as possession of an offensive weapon.
Anger over arrest video
After the footage went viral, multiple people accused the police of excessive force.
"We have to take a look at how our community police are treating our people, unacceptable if you ask me," the man, who shared the footage to Facebook, captioned the video.
"This is happening in our backyard."
However Acting Inspector Rob Huys says the footage being shared on social media only shows a small part of the entire incident.
"This was a volatile, unpredictable situation involving an offender who allegedly possessed a weapon, displayed concerning behaviour and attempted to flee from police in his vehicle and then again on foot," he said in a statement on Tuesday.
"The officer did what was necessary to successfully apprehend the alleged offender with the assistance of his police dog and I applaud him for his actions at the scene.
"[The footage] doesn't illustrate the alleged offender's actions before being apprehended, nor does it show the risk faced by our officer at the scene."
Inspt Huys adds if people are signalled to pull over, they should do so immediately to avoid creating further unnecessary risk for themselves.
