PSNI Chief Constable Jon Boutcher has apologised after it emerged that 74 officers accessed body-worn camera footage of an arrest.
Action was taken against the group over accessing the footage of an officer making a mistake during an arrest.
The Police Ombudsman found they had had no legitimate policing purpose for doing so.
Investigators found that between December 2019 and November 2022, footage of the incident had been accessed 248 times by 82 police officers and one civilian staff member based at 20 police stations across Northern Ireland.
Police Service of Northern Ireland Chief Constable Jon Boutcher (PA)
Further inquiries established that only five police officers and one civilian staff member had a proper reason for accessing the video.
Mr Boutcher described the actions of the officers as “absolutely unacceptable”.
Appearing at the Northern Ireland Policing Board on Thursday, Mr Boutcher said the behaviour of those officer did “not reflect standards” of the PSNI.
He said that theofficer involved was aware that a large number of colleagues had viewed the footage and “understandably felt embarrassed”, adding they were provided with appropriate welfare support.
“It appears from the investigation, the officers’ motivation to view the footage was one of ill-guided stupidity and humour at their colleague’s mistake. That’s wholly inappropriate,” Mr Boutcher said.