Police officer seen dragging homeless man across ground in shocking footage

Footage online captures the shocking moment a police officer drags a homeless man sleeping rough across the ground.

The footage, obtained by the BBC, also showed the female officer tread her foot on the man’s abdominal area, outside the Town Hall in the city centre.

Greater Manchester Police said the incident was ‘unacceptable’ and ‘must not be repeated’, and homeless charity Crisis called the incident ‘appalling and degrading’.

Speaking about the officer’s behaviour in the incident, which happened last September, GMP said it ‘fell below the standard we expect’.

The man, a refugee from Sudan, had been sleeping on the street along with a group of other homeless refugees when they were woken and told to move from the area.

Speaking to BBC News, the 31-year-old – who wishes to remain anonymous – said he had been injured by the officer and had to seek treatment at the hospital, but has since recovered.

He said: “I was telling her I need to sleep. But she stamped on my stomach with her foot. It caused me problems – I had a fever and in the following hours I had blood in my urine.”

The Sudanese man, who has been in the UK for three years and was granted the right to remain, received an apology from the force and has now found accommodation.

Matt Downie, chief executive at Crisis, told the BBC: “It’s appalling to see such dehumanising treatment of people rough sleeping.

“If the police behave in this way, how do we expect the public to improve the way they treat rough sleepers?

“We know there’s a problem here, we know that people are regularly abused and that some awful things happen to people on the streets.”

A GMP spokesperson said: “Greater Manchester Police was first made aware of this concerning video in around September last year. 

“The officer’s behaviour fell below the standard we expect, especially concerning respect for all members of the community, and the officer’s actions were dealt with.

“The Superintendent responsible for the City Centre personally discussed the incident with the officer and made it clear that her actions were unacceptable and must not be repeated. 

“She, along with other employees, received refresher training on how to deal with similar situations in the future.”