Jury shown CCTV footage of cops socialising, stripping

Albert Street, Ministry of Justice.
Albert Street, Ministry of Justice. Photo credit: RNZ / Claire Eastham-Farrelly

By Anneke Smith of RNZ

The jury in the trial of a police officer accused of raping his colleague has watched CCTV footage of the night that shows a senior sergeant exposing himself during a night of drinking.

A male officer, who can't be named, is on trial in the Auckland District Court this month accused of raping the woman as she slept in a Kerikeri motel last year.

The jury has heard the defendant and complainant were part of a large group of officers put up in a motel to work during Waitangi commemorations last year.

CCTV footage of the night before Waitangi Day shows a group of mostly-male officers socialising in the motel's courtyard late into the night.

The complainant and defendant are seen mingling with each other; playfully pushing and touching each other as the night progresses.

The police officers make several trips out to buy more alcohol and at one point the complainant and another male officer jump in the pool.

The woman said she felt at ease socialising amongst the group and felt like "one of the boys" joking around with them.

"I felt extremely comfortable. You often get thrown into working with different teams of different people at short notice that you might have never met before and obviously you're in high risk situations so you have to be comfortable and trust them straight away."

The woman said she took part in a drinking game where officers sculled beer out of a hollowed-out police batton but her team looked after her and watered down the alcohol for her.

She also stripped down to her underwear with the rest of the group in a game of "chicken" they played around 11pm, she said.

The jury has watched CCTV footage of this game and a moment where a senior sergeant exposes himself to the group, who laugh hysterically.

The trial before Judge Evangelos Thomas and a jury is set down for two weeks.

RNZ