The ceremonial event comes after a week of turmoil for police.
A damning report released this week by the Independent Police Conduct Authority found serious misconduct at the highest levels of police, including former Commissioner Andrew Coster, over how police responded to allegations of sexual misconduct by former Deputy Police Commissioner Jevon McSkimming.
The highest-ranking police officers in New Zealand ignored anonymous allegations that McSkimming was a sexual predator.
Instead, the emails sent by the young female complainant were used by police as evidence to prosecute her.
Commissioner Chambers earlier this week gave a scathing assessment of his predecessor Coster’s handling of the allegations against McSkimming and the decision to keep sex complaints against the former top cop secret.
He called the situation “an absolute disgrace”.
Yesterday, Chambers attended a Wellington graduation ceremony for new recruits, where he admitted he was pulled over for speeding last week.
He was delivering a speech to graduating police recruits in Porirua on Thursday when he told the new officers and their supporters that he had been ticketed for exceeding the speed limit.
He told the recruits getting pulled over was the “dumbest thing I’ve done” as commissioner, saying he was “away with the fairies” at the time.
The 55 newly attested police officers marched out at Te Rauparaha Arena, Porirua, yesterday.
Jaime Lyth is a multimedia journalist for the New Zealand Herald, focusing on crime and breaking news. Lyth began working under the NZ Herald masthead in 2021 as a reporter for the Northern Advocate in Whangārei.