Warning: The above video may be distressing to some viewers.
New footage has been released shedding fresh light on a clash between protesters and the developers of a controversial marina on Auckland's Waiheke Island last week.
In CCTV vision provided by the developer, security guards can be seen wrestling protestors on a floating pontoon at the construction site of the Kennedy Point Marina.
One protester then appears to kick out at a security guard who falls in the water between the pontoon and a pile.
The footage comes after Protect Pūtiki, who have been occupying the marina for more than 120 days, released footage last week showing video appearing to show a protester being kicked in the head by a security guard.
The developer of Kennedy Point Marina told Newshub the new footage shows what happened immediately prior to that incident - and that the security guard could have drowned.
Kitt Littlejohn, Kennedy Point Marina's director, said the video footage released by protesters last week "has been portrayed as an isolated incident when in fact it is not an accurate representation of what took place on the day".
He said his company did not condone the use of unreasonable force or violence from anyone but said "it is important to put this single incident into its wider context".
"What immediately preceded this widely viewed altercation was a disturbing incident in which one of the protesters repeatedly kicked a 55-year-old security guard in the head as he lay on the pontoon, having been shoved there after trying to prevent access onto the pontoon," Littlejohn said.
"He was subsequently pushed into the water by the protester and into a narrow cavity where he sustained a head injury and could have drowned.
"This serious assault happened amidst a backdrop of verbally and physically abusive protesters attacking the security and construction team who were lawfully trying to stop them trespassing into what is a clearly marked active construction zone."
Last week police confirmed they were investigating a number of complaints relating to the incident shown on camera, which took place on July 7.
Construction of the marina has been highly controversial, with Waiheke locals, iwi and environmentalists battling it for years, saying it endangers a nearby kororā (little blue penguin) colony.
An online petition against the marina has received more than 20,000 signatures.
Last week Protect Pūtiki spokesperson Emily Weiss told Newshub protesters were going out of their way to avoid escalating the situation as tensions rise. She said developers and security had created a "scary and intimidating" climate for protesters at the construction site.
She said the developers needed to take a "serious look" at complaints by locals on Waiheke about the marina, as well as a "serious look at the behaviour they're condoning in order to uphold their right to build".
