A video capturing a police officer playing guitar and singing alongside the people protesting at Ihumātao has gone viral on Facebook.
Auckland resident Piks Mura-Hita uploaded the footage to Facebook, showing the officer in his high-visibility vest singing 'Whakaaria Mai' with a choir of onlookers.
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At the time of writing, the video has been viewed over 86,000 times in eight hours, and has been shared over 2000 times.
"Met a few more this morning and even brought over more pallets and helped us with our fire and kai for the whānau on the front line," Mura-Hita captioned the post.
"Damn, he's handsome... and funny," Mura-Hita added at the end of the clip, prompting laughter from viewers.
The video has received hundreds of comments, praising the officer for his participation.
"So beautiful to see the aroha and feel the love through this waiata," one person commented.
"This brings hope, hope for our people," wrote another.
A number of other Facebook users have chipped in with words of respect and positivity in response to the officer's song.
The Ihumātao demonstration is now on its sixth day, with hundreds camping out to protest a Fletchers housing development being built on the sacred site.
Police officers monitoring the movement have praised the majority of protesters for their peaceful demonstration, reiterating their commitment to peaceful resolution.
Seven protesters were arrested on Thursday for chaining themselves to a van and forming a human chain across a busy road in Mangere near the main protest site. Police have called their actions "reckless" and "totally unacceptable".
On Friday, Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern announced the building work at Ihumātao would be stopped until the dispute is resolved.
Newshub.
