Cop's 'alarming' overtake sparks review after close-call with truck

The incident was caught on camera on State Highway 1 north of Taupō last week. (Source: Supplied)

Police will review an "alarming" overtake by an officer on a central North Island state highway caught on dashcam last week.

The incident, captured on video, showed a police car overtaking a truck at the start of a passing lane on SH1 north of Taupō about 4.20pm on Thursday.

Truck driver Angus Rainsford told 1News he was heading south down a hill at around 90km/h in the opposite lane at the time of the near miss.

"I came around the corner and there was a cop car in my lane."

He said he slammed on the brakes and narrowly avoided a collision.

"It was less than a car length, probably 3-4 metres. I thought I was going over the top of him."

Bay of Plenty district commander Superintendent Will Loughrin said the officer was working to stop a vehicle that had been detected travelling at speed.

"The officer had their lights activated as they made the overtaking manoeuvre," he said in a statement to 1News.

"However, we acknowledge there was limited visibility to do this completely safely, and that this would have been alarming for the driver of the oncoming vehicle."

He said police were "human and do make mistakes".

"We will be working with the officer involved to review what happened and support them. The speeding vehicle was stopped, and the driver was spoken to."

Asked about the police review, Rainsford said he hoped the outcome would be fair and consistent.

"I hope he gets held to the same standard that I would and that everyone else would."

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