Fuzz in an elevator: New Zealand police video goes viral

Video of five police officers clapping and stamping out a beat in a lift draws huge reaction

The New Zealand police have released a follow-up to their viral running man video, which sparked a global dance-off between officers from New York to Edinburgh.

On Tuesday the service posted an 80-second clip set in a lift in a city police station on Facebook.

The video was viewed 250,000 times in 20 hours.

The footage begins with two officers in uniform entering a lift. One stamps and claps out a beat, then the other joins in, drumming in time on the metal wall.

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When the lift stops to collect three more officers the men briefly pause, but as the doors close the other officers join in and the five quickly fall into sync.

On the final stop another two officers enter the lift - one who taps his pen against the elevator wall in time, and the other who zips and unzips his jacket in time.

In early May New Zealand police released their take on the “running man” dance craze and challenged police forces around the world to one-up them.

The global response included New York City's finest recording a video on a pier by the Brooklyn Bridge, and contributions by Scottish and Australian police. The gardaí also showed their moves in May with a video showing officers at the Garda College in Templemore, Co Tippearary dancing to the 1996 song My Boo by Ghost Town

The dance videos are part of a light-hearted approach by New Zealand police to soften their public image and recruit 400 new officers by the end of the year - particularly of Maori, Pacific Island, Middle Eastern and Indian descent.

However the efforts have also drawn scorn from some viewers on Facebook who have accused police of wasting time and resources.

Liz Adams posted: "Too much time on your hands? Do some proper work and help people who need it instead of making stupid videos?"

Treacy Thompson wrote: "Pathetic attempt at making us think you are something that you blatantly are not. Why not try for once to be that nice to the strangers you meet and give a hard time to."