A New Zealand police officer was tried in court after verbally assaulting a Korean security guard with a barrage of racially-charged slurs last September.

The altercation began when officer Jason Te Huia was denied entry in Skycity Queenstown casino in New Zealand. A Korean security guard prevented Te Huia and his associate from entering the casino, as the two were evidently drunk, according to Otago Daily Times. Te Huia proceeded to verbally attack the security guard with racist remarks, reportedly saying “I can smell you. It smells Asian like a dog”.

https://t.co/OgS8wR0FuQ

Anybody else would be sentenced. Shame on @nzpolice for keeping him on. — Rosie (@nzrosie1) August 25, 2017

The insults did not stop there; Te Huia further taunted the guard with racial slurs including “shoestring eyes” and “slant eyes”. Te Huia pleaded guilty to one charge of intending to insult a person in a public place but was eventually discharged without conviction in May.

The New Zealand police officer admitted to the allegations and explained that he was “pretty drunk” and that he barely remembered the events that transpired that night. He later said that he had never been tried in court before and that he now feels “ashamed and remorseful” about what happened that night.

While Te Huia certainly regrets his actions, the New Zealand police officer still remains on restricted duties. Superintendent Paul Basham revealed that they will continue investigating Te Huia’s case.

Image via Wikimedia Commons / 111 Emergency (CC BY 2.0)