Editorial: Picture blow to police integrity

There are often times and particular incidents where you simply have to pause to wonder what the people involved were thinking.

Such is the case with the uniformed police officer who apparently decided it would be a smart idea to pose over a patrol car with a gun held to his head at a fundraising event.

The image, which made its way on to social networking sites, shows the officer being pushed over the car with his hands held behind his back by one man, while another points a gun at the officer's head.

The picture was taken at the Cannonball street rally held in Auckland. Police have confirmed the picture's authenticity and that it appeared to be taken with the officer's cooperation.

They have described the image as "not appropriate", but otherwise are remaining tight-lipped.

Some on the internet have queried whether the image is of a real officer or a hoax.

What's not in doubt is that the picture is a bad look for the police, an organisation which, above all others, relies on the respect of the general public.

That respect has taken a blow in recent years through several high-profile incidents, and fun or not, this picture does nothing to help rebuild that level of gravitas.

It's also horribly insensitive to the families of those police officers who have been killed in the line of duty, at a time where violence against police appears to be becoming more prevalent.

Whether the person with the gun to his head in the photograph is a genuine police officer or not, his actions in posing in this manner are childish, stupid, and utterly unbecoming of the uniform he is pictured wearing.