Former All Blacks captain Zinzan Brooke delivered an emotional haka as the body of slain Kiwi-born cop Sgt Matiu Ratana was taken away.
"I genuinely had a good tear in my eye to do the haka when the car came up along the side and I saw the silver fern on the coffin," Brooke said.
Sgt Ratana was shot dead in a South London custody centre in September by a handcuffed suspect.
Due to Covid-19 restrictions, the 54-year-old’s funeral was live streamed to family, friends and colleagues around the world from a chapel in Shoreham-by-Sea, West Sussex.
A funeral for Sergeant Matt Ratana, who was shot as he prepared to search a suspect, was held overnight.
The Metropolitan Police officer was remembered as a "big ball of energy" as family, policing and rugby communities pledged to keep his legacy alive.
"Your kindness and your spirit will live on," his partner, Su Bushby, wrote in a statement read by her friend.
Following the service, Brooke along with Ngati Rānana, the London Māori Club, performed a haka in front of Ratana’s coffin as it was being driven to a private cremation service.
His ashes will be returned to New Zealand.
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