'Absolutely stunning': Police officer sings with protesters at Ihumātao

Footage of a police officer singing with the people at Ihumātao has gone viral. Photo / Piks Mura-Hita

Footage of a police officer singing and playing guitar with the people at Ihumātao has gone viral.

Uploaded to Facebook by Piks Mura-Hita, the video shows the officer, in his high viz vest, singing Whakaaria Mai, accompanied by a choir of other people.

The video has had more than 67,000 views in just over six hours. Hundreds of comments praise the police officer for joining the crowd.

"Cops are not all that bad. He's there to do mahi to feed his whanau ... we are all one," one person commented.

"This is absolutely stunning," another one said.

"I have never ever wanted to hug a police fella, never ever ... Till now. Be blessed whanau katoa," another person wrote.

"His job is as a cop but, he's Māori first. This alone proves we are a unique country. PROUD," another Facebook user added.

Footage of a police officer singing with the people at Ihumātao has gone viral. Photo / Piks Mura-Hita

Hundreds of people have stayed the night at Ihumātao, with the protest now on its sixth day.

Some are prepared to stay as long as it takes to get a satisfactory result, they say.

On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced a halt to building work at Ihumātao until the dispute is resolved.

The protest has reverberated across the country, with supporters holding events in Rotorua and Dunedin.

Chief Human Rights Commissioner Paul Hunt visited Ihumātao on Friday.

"There are several issues facing the mana whenua and all other participants involved in the dispute," he said.

"We need to bring together a range of perspectives to identify ways of resolving this dispute in an enduring way."