Police probe leaking of video depicting shark attack of Kai McKenzie at Port Macquarie

A police investigation is underway into how a video of the horrific shark attack which took a surfer’s leg became public, with evidence suggesting it was copied at a police facility. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT.

An internal police investigation is underway after a video depicting the horrific great white shark attack which caused much-loved surfer Kai McKenzie to lose a leg was leaked online.

The video, which appears to be of a computer screen showing the footage inside a police facility, shows the very moment Mr McKenzie attempted to evade the jaws of the apex predator as it strikes.

Mr McKenzie, 23, lost his right leg in the attack on North Shore Beach, just north of Port Macquarie, on July 23.

His damaged leg was tourniqueted using a dog leash before he was stablised and rushed to hospital suffering severe blood loss.

The footage, believed have been originally taken by a member of the public, shows the experienced surfer frantically trying to paddle back to shore in extremely calm surf conditions and in what appears to be waist-deep water.

The shark, last week estimated by experts looking at teeth marks on Mr McKenzie’s shattered board as a three-metre-long great white, is seen to spear towards the Bonny Hills man from behind.

A screen grab from video footage of Port Macquarie surfer Kai McKenzie, who lost a leg in a shark attack last week. Picture: Supplied

Kai McKenzie, of Bonny Hills, was attacked by a shark on North Shore Beach near Port Macquarie on Tuesday July 23 2024. Picture: Instagram

The vision shows a dorsal fin – and then its massive tailfin – pierce above the water line as it thrashes about and approaches Mr McKenzie’s legs.

The leaked vision is of a computer screen playing the lead-up to the attack and then pausing as the mauling is about to be shown.

Kai McKenzie paddling to shore

Another screen grab as the shark approaches.

A sign in the background reads “RESPECT PRIDE TRUST” along with the blue and white diagonal logo of the NSW Police Force.

Police have confirmed the internal investigation was underway.

“NSW Police are aware of the video circulating online and have commenced an investigation into how the video came to be released,” police said in a statement.

“The NSWPF does not tolerate this kind of conduct and will take appropriate action pending the outcome of the investigation.”

The investigation will be conducted by the force’s professional standards command, which is in charge of investigating police officers and civilian employees and their conduct.

Mckenzie’s surfboard after the attack. Photograph: NSW Police

The footage has been circulated online and attracted some viewers to suggest the shark was bigger than the three metres estimated by shark experts, who used teeth marks on Mr McKenzie’s board and other evidence to come to their conclusions, to have mauled the surfer.

It also adds weight to the commentary from Mr McKenzie himself, an experienced and talented surfer and has been the focus of many surfing videos, who said it was the largest he had witnessed.

“Man ohh f--king man to be here right now just to f--king be able to hold my beautiful Eve and my family is everything to me, a few days ago I went through a crazy shark attack (biggest shark I’ve ever seen) which was a very crazy scene and scared the living f--k out of me,” he wrote on social media after spending several days in intensive care.

Originally published as Police probe leaking of video depicting shark attack of Kai McKenzie at Port Macquarie