Two off-duty police officers have been found guilty of assaulting a group of students.

Verdicts have been returned in the judge-alone trial of Patrick Garty, 32, and Wiremu Bowers Rakatau, 21, in the Auckland District Court.

Judge Heather Simpson rejected the pair's self-defence justifications saying they had plenty of opportunities to not carry out the assaults.

Both officers immediately indicated they would apply for a Section 106 discharge without conviction.

The judge said the victims' body language, seen on CCTV footage, indicated non-aggressiveness and a conciliatory tone.

The police case was that Garty and Bowers Rakatau, at the time both serving officers, had been out drinking in the city with a third off-duty officer when a verbal altercation developed with a group of five young males.

After the students gave them the fingers, the police officers, in civilian clothes, followed the group down an alley and an altercation developed in the foyer of an apartment block.

Differing interpretations of security camera footage of the foyer were the focus of the trial.

The footage showed a scuffle between Garty and one of the students, Benjamin Palmer, in the bottom left of the screen that quickly disappeared out of view.

The four others were seen standing nearby being prevented from reaching their friend by Bowers Rakatau who was seen kicking them as they approached.

The prosecution version was that Garty pushed his way into the room and the off-camera scuffle included Garty repeatedly punching Palmer in the head.

Palmer cracked his head as he fell down from the assault, causing him to bleed.

Bowers Rakatau was charged with assaulting Palmer for aiding Garty and not allowing anyone to come between them.

Members of the group earlier testified they were trying to calm the situation down and were not threatening the officers.

The judge accepted that teh students were trying to escape the three officers who appeared to them to be aggressive strangers.

While Garty did the bulk of the assault "Mr Rakatau made it clear by his behaviour he was there to assist with whatever Garty was doing'', the judge said.