Would-be police recruit told scarf 'too gay'

The police drive to encourage 1000 extra people start a career in the force got off to a bad start on the weekend when one interested Christchurch man was told by a recruitment officers his scarf was too "gay".

Simon Calcinai, aged 20, was at the Careers Expo at the Westpac Centre in Christchurch on Sunday when two uniformed officers told him the scarf he was wearing was "a bit too gay", The Press reported today.

"I was at the police table having a chat and the woman (officer) said, 'You might want to lose that scarf'. The other guy then said, 'Yeah, it's a bit too gay'," Mr Calcinai told the paper.

Mr Calcinai said he had since been emailed an apology.

"Unfortunately, you have taken the comments personally and it certainly wasn't intended to offend. Yes, we do recruit lesbian and gay male officers," the email said.

- NZPA