Two police officers have been questioned at an inquest over "fun" and "light-hearted" conversations captured on body-worn video after an Aboriginal man disappeared in floodwaters.
Images have been used with the permission of the family.
Gordon Copeland, 22, died after running from police and falling into the Gwydir River near Moree in July last year.
The Gomeroi man and two others were in a car being followed by police before they fled on foot.
Mr Copeland's body was found less than 500 metres downstream three months later.
Officers can be heard joking and laughing with each other at the riverside in body cam footage played on the third day of the inquest.
The inquest earlier heard police searched for 13 minutes after they saw him flee towards the river.
One officer could be heard saying, "I said don't move, and it was like roadrunner, straight down the cliff."
Several family members in the court room shook their heads and cried after hearing the comment.
Counsel Assisting the Coroner Peggy Dwyer on Wednesday questioned two of the police witnesses, neither of whom made the comments, about the light-hearted nature of the conversations after the initial search.
Constable Joshua Jones agreed that it would be hurtful for the family to hear those comments.
The second officer questioned, Constable Katerina Hinton, was a probational constable at the time of the incident, and had been working as an officer for three months.
She began crying when asked by Ms Dwyer if she agreed there was "a sense of fun, or frivolity, or lightness to the discussion".
Constable Hinton: Our job as police officers is to protect life and property.
Ms Dwyer: Why does everyone seem so light-hearted when they get back to the car?
Constable Hinton: If I knew someone was in the river I never would have returned to the car.
Constable Hinton also gave evidence about the condition of the river that night.
"The current was rough, there was a lot of debris, it was crashing, it was quite loud, if somebody was in that river, they may have struggled to swim," she said.
"Even a strong swimmer may have struggled in that circumstance."
Police bring in more resources
NSW Police have confirmed that they had increased their presence in Moree to coincide with the inquest.
Western Region Commander, Assistant Commissioner Brett Greentree says Aboriginal Community Liaison Officers are liaising with "Mr Copeland's family and the local community".
"Additional specialist resources have also been deployed to assist local police in the event public disorder occurs."
