Police Commissioner Mike Bush wants to meet with Green Party co-leader Marama Davidson who, on social media, has accused police of racial profiling and "systematic racism".
Ms Davidson added a hashtag to the social media posts - #DrivingWhileBrown.
She wrote that she is often followed in shops, chemists in particular and over the weekend was talking to her brother who "still gets pulled over for 'random checks' in his car".
This has happened "his whole life, regularly, often, without fail," she posted.
She tweeted that her brother was recently with a Pākeha friend and, "she freaked out at him being pulled over, he told her this was nothing new. She had no idea, was blown away".
"My bro is a 42-year-old professional and community leader, but brown and gruff looking. This started when he was a teen," she said.
"My bro is privileged enough to have the tools to respond politely to ongoing, systemic racism. The burden falls on him to be proven innocent. For others of our people, they can't live up to this burden…if we had armed cops, who knows…"
Ms Davidson told the NZ Herald racial profiling is a reason to not arm the police.
She said not everyone on the receiving end of racial profiling would behave calmly or politely, and that risked escalation.
Commissioner Bush says suggestions of racial profiling by New Zealand Police or headlines about "systemic racism" are directly at odds with the core values they uphold, particularly diversity, professionalism, respect and commitment to Maori and the Treaty.
"We strive to be a fair, impartial and bias free police service, and we are continually on a journey to ensure we achieve this," Mr Bush said in a statement.
"However, the perception of our organisation by Ms Davidson is a real concern that we need to address.
"I would welcome an opportunity to meet with Ms Davidson so that she can understand what we are doing in this area," he said.
Mr Bush said the allegation of 'systemic racism' does not reflect who New Zealand Police are as an organisation, or the service they deliver to help keep New Zealanders safe every day.
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