The video shows the police officer seated in a police van‚ carrying what looks like a docket. A woman asks the officer if he can recognise her and he confirms he can. The woman then instructs one of the people at the scene to take a photograph of the drunk officer. The man is seen staggering as he gets out of the van.

“He can’t even stand‚ yhoo‚” one man is heard saying.

The woman asks him to explain why he is drunk on duty.

“Why are you in this condition? Please explain‚” the woman says.

Police spokesman Brigadier Jay Naicker said that they had identified an officer from the Mountain Rise police station in Pietermaritzburg as the “culprit”.

“We have established that the officer and his crew had been called to a complaint in their area on October 14. When they arrived‚ it became apparent that one of the officers was intoxicated.”

After the video was taken‚ Naicker said‚ the officer was taken to the station and booked off-duty.

“He has had his firearm taken away and he will be working in the community service centre while disciplinary action against him and his partner runs its course.”

According to the police‚ the officer had responded to a complaint in Copesville Drive on Sunday‚ when the complainants realised that he was “highly intoxicated”.

“Although the driver [of the van] was sober‚ the fact that he failed to act against his colleague is also viewed as serious misconduct and a senior officer has been appointed to investigate the matter. The constable in the video has been restricted to desk duties and his firearm was removed whilst he is under investigation‚” the police said.