A Northland police officer ordered Whakaari Peri, filming, to stop filming him or he'd be given a ticket. Police have apologised to Peri and said the officer was unfair.

A police officer who ordered a teenager to to "put your phone down or I will start writing out the traffic tickets" has been scolded by bosses.

Police have apologised to Whakaari Peri, 16, and disciplined the officer after he made the threat during a traffic stop in Whangarei while Peri was a passenger in a friend's car.

The teen's angry mother Gemma Hiakita believes the officer abused his powers.

"No wonder so many youth, especially Māori youth, have bad attitudes toward the police," Hiakita said.

READ MORE:

* Police caught on video punching 13-year-old

* Police respond to social media criticism

* Police recruitment video reaches 14 million

"I'm really annoyed and can't believe he was treated like that. He was within his rights and wasn't doing anything wrong."

MALCOLM PULLMAN Whakaari Peri, 16, has received an apology from police after an officer threatening to fine him if he didn't stop filming him. Pictured here with mother Gemma Hiakita in Whangarei.

The officer initially warned the driver for carrying passengers on his restricted licence but after becoming aware Peri was filming him, ordered him to stop otherwise he and the driver would be ticketed and the other passengers checked.

In the video, the officer says, "You can keep filming me all you like mate, right, I've given your driver a pretty good break tonight. If we are going to carry on this way, and I think you are not going to learn tonight's lesson, I can use my discretion and write a traffic ticket or I can use my discretion to let people go with a warning.

"So either put your phone down or I will start writing out the traffic tickets."

Filming police carrying out duties in a public place is legal and does not require police consent. Peri complained through the New Zealand Police Conduct Association and the complaint was passed to police.

In December Inspector Al Symonds apologised and said the officer would undergo a disciplinary process.

"It has been found that the officer did not act fairly - and that you had the lawful right to continue to record the interaction," Symonds wrote. "The behaviour of the officer was not appropriate and I would like to offer a sincere apology from police for any stress this may have caused you."

Police wouldn't divulge the outcome of the disciplinary action to Peri, or Stuff. Peri said he was "appalled" by the incident which had fuelled his distrust of the police, which began at 13 when he was accused of a crime he didn't commit.

After he was let go he filmed all of his interactions with police. The officer in this instance didn't care about his rights, he believed. "I was under the impression that he didn't care at all. All cops know that public citizens are allowed to film."

Hiakita said she was proud of her son's conduct in the footage, describing him as polite and articulate, but was disappointed in the officer.

She was satisfied with the apology but now understood why her son insisted on filming police interactions. "All the boys (in the car) cooperated and did what they were asked ... There was no need to react the way he did."

Police Association president Chris Cahill said people filming police was "the reality of the world today" and police generally understood it. It became problematic if footage taken out of context was posted online, if officer safety was compromised, or if traumatic scenes were publicised.

In May police rebuked criticism of cellphone footage appearing to show an officer punching a teenager. "More often than not these videos will only show a portion of what has happened and... rarely show the full circumstances, such as our staff being assaulted," Counties Manukau area commander Inspector Wendy Spiller said at the time.

Filming wasn't necessarily a sign of respect, Cahill said, and police could become frustrated if they thought footage of them would be posted on social media. "In hindsight I'm sure the police officer probably reflected on that...it wasn't the best call."

Northland police conduct manager, acting Inspector Dan Cleaver, said the officer remained on duty.

"Police has apologised to the individual concerned. Anecdotally, we are not aware of the matter of the filming of police officers being a significant issue for staff."