Footage of a Greater Manchester police officer dragging a homeless man across the ground in a sleeping bag has been called “unacceptable” by the force.
The video, which was taken near Manchester town hall, then shows the officer deliberately stepping on the man’s stomach as he is lying on the floor.
The 31-year-old man, who has chosen to remain anonymous, told the BBC he was injured by the officer’s actions.
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.”
He said he was forced to go to hospital after the incident, but recovered.
In a statement, a GMP spokesperson said: “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.”
GMP did not respond when the Guardian asked if the officer in the video faced further disciplinary action.
The homeless man, who is a refugee from Sudan, has been in the UK for three and a half years and has been given the right to remain.
He said that rough sleepers were usually woken by council officials every morning, but on the morning of the incident they “told them we had nowhere to go and that it was very cold”.
The homelessness charity Shelter England said this behaviour reflected a wider hostility towards homeless people.
Polly Neate, the chief executive of Shelter, said: “This is a harrowing reminder of the abusive and brutal treatment people are often faced with when sleeping on the streets.
“Sleeping rough is deeply unsafe with people under the constant threat of harassment and violence. Nobody chooses to spend their night shivering in a sleeping bag. But record high rents and the government’s failure to build enough social homes mean more people are becoming homeless and growing numbers of them are ending up on the street.”
The Sudanese man from the video said he had received an apology from the force and was in accommodation.
