Police bosses are investigating bullying claims after a gay British officer quit his job at the Avondale station in Auckland, saying was the target of homophobic taunts from colleagues. The claim comes as police say they are trying to increase the number of gays and lesbians in the force and are appointing ‘diversity liaison officers' to provide contact points for glbt people and communities - who are now listed under in GayNZ.com's support organisaton main menu heading. However, police attitudes to gays have long been patchy and as recently as late last year Timaru police arrested a number of gay men at a toilet block for a victimless crime. Police Association head Greg O'Connor says he knows nothing about the accusations but would be surprised if they were true. The officer in charge of recent recruitment of British police says she understood the complainant officer "left for a number of reasons." But Inspector Peter Cowan, head of police equal opportunities, acknowledges there is still some resistance in some quarters of the force to the changing of police culture from a straight, tall white male, macho domain to one which reflects the diversity of the country.