Footage uploaded to Facebook by Panapa’s mother, Emere, shows a car parked in a narrow alley just off a strip of shops, surrounded by several officers and a group of young people on a night out.
An officer approaches the driver’s door and tells the 26-year-old to get out, which he appears to do before he is restrained.
Moments later, the video appears to show Panapa being punched in the head twice by an officer.
Panapa’s partner, who was filming, can be heard telling him “Panapa resist, Panapa resist”, and was later heard repeating, “He just punched him in the head”.
She then repeatedly asked for an officer’s badge number before alleging another officer shoved her head into a brick wall.
“I felt like I had no voice to say ‘what’s going on?’” Panapa said.
He claimed an officer began calling him names and threatening him.
“[The officer] said, ‘You’re nothing’, and I was just defenceless.”
Panapa said he was taken to the police station for processing before being released about two hours later.
He was charged with possessing a weapon, cannabis and resisting arrest, but said: “I do not admit to any of those things”.
Panapa said he and his partner had lodged complaints with the Independent Police Conduct Authority.
Police confirmed they had received a complaint about the incident and were “taking a closer look at the circumstances”.
“We are not in a position to comment further at this stage,” they said.
Days later, Panapa said he was still trying to process what had happened.
Emere said watching the footage was “heartbreaking” and prompted her to share the video on social media because she believed people should see what had happened.
She said she now worries every time her son leaves home, telling him to “never go alone” because she feared “they might come after you”.
Panapa is due to appear at the Hamilton District Court on July 17.