Two men are facing reckless charges after police were forced to retreat when they were called to a car meet in Oaonui last weekend.
At around 1am on Saturday, February 21, police were called to reports of a gathering of antisocial road users on Kina Road, south-west of New Plymouth.
"Police attended and found the group to be well established," Inspector Mark Miller said.
According to RNZ, some of the group were found to be "hostile". A video posted to YouTube showed a group of people approaching a police car before it reverses, with people running after it.
"After speaking with some of the people gathered, a tactical decision was made to move back and gather information to be used in the investigation phase following the event," Miller said.
Over the following week, police said an 18-year-old man had been arrested, and another man had been summoned to appear in court.
The 18-year-old was due to appear in the Hāwera District Court on March 3, charged with reckless driving.
The other would appear in the Hāwera District Court on March 10, also facing reckless driving charges.
Miller said the charges were in addition to one vehicle being impounded and 14 infringement notices for licence breaches – nine of which were issued on the night of the incident and five during the subsequent investigation.
Police also appealed for any information on the whereabouts of a silver or light-coloured Toyota Estima – or its driver – that was involved in the incident.
Anyone with information was asked to call police on 105.
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