This is the shocking moment a female police officer drags a rough sleeper across the ground and appears to stamp on his stomach.
The video, obtained by the BBC, shows a female Greater Manchester Police officer pulling the man’s sleeping bag across the street with him still in it.
She then grabs the man by the arms in an attempt to lift him off the floor before appearing to deliberately stamp on his chest in distressing scenes that took place last September outside Manchester Town Hall.
The 31-year-old man, who is a refugee from Sudan, was injured following the horrific incident and later developed a fever and had blood in his urine.
GMP said the officer’s actions ‘fell below the standard we expect’ and she had been ‘dealt with’ following the incident, which homeless charity Crisis described as ‘appalling and dehumanising’.
Speaking to the BBC, the 31-year-old said has been given the right to remain UK and has been living here for the past three years.
He explained that he was rough sleeping innext to Manchester Town Hall with a group of other homeless refugees and were usually woken up each morning by council officials. But on this occasion it was a police officer.
The Sudanese man said: ‘We told them we had nowhere to go and that it was very cold. 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 man said the force has now apologised to him and he has now found accommodation.
Matt Downie, chief executive 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 Greater Manchester Police 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.’
The shocking incident comes amid a spate of increased abuse towards rough sleepers in the UK.
Last December footage emerged McDonald’s security guard mopping the floor next to a rough sleeper on Victoria Street, London, prompting furious backlash from members of the public.
Aaron McCarthy, 24, was sitting outside a Nationwide bank branch next door to the McDonald’s when he was asked to move by security guards, who he claimed became aggressive when he refused.
Footage shared to social media shows a man in a high-viz jacket shamelessly wetting the area where a homeless man was camped out. The video shows crowds erupt into fury as the man’s belongings are completely flooded.
Mr McCarthy can be seen trying to move his sleeping bag and duvet away from the water as it seeped underneath.
He is heard saying ‘leave me alone’ as his belongings were kicked out of the way. The man filming the incident is able to capture the ordeal, as another worker tries to stop him.
Another security guard can be seen attempting to stop filming, as bystanders can be heard describing the situation as ‘outrageous’ and ‘bang out of order’.
The man behind the camera can be heard saying: ‘I’m allowed to film. That is outrageous behaviour’.
In the background, the homeless man, getting increasingly distressed, asking the worker: ‘What have you done? I’m not even outside your shop!’
As the scene gets increasingly hostile, a security guard can be seen coming out of the restaurant, asking the homeless man: ‘Why you causing trouble?’
But the crowd is quick to leap to his defence, with the man filming insisting: ‘What do you mean causing trouble? The guy’s just covered his sleeping bag in water. It’s winter! That is outrageous.’
In the same month Conservative MP and former minister David Davis told how he stepped in to stop two men attacking a homeless man named Gareth near Parliament.
The former Brexit secretary intervened after seeing a ‘spray of blood’ as the attackers kicked the man’s head on Great Peter Street on December 12 at 11pm.
The 74-year-old politician, who is a former SAS reservist, put himself between Gareth and the pair before scuffling with one of them. He let the man spend the night on his sofa at his nearby flat and took him to hospital the following morning.
Last year a major survey conducted by Crisis revealed that 75 per cent of rough sleepers have had belongings stolen while 72 per cent have been verbally abused or harassed.
It also found that 61 per cent had been threatened with violence or intimidated; 53 per cent had things thrown at them; and 51 per cent attacked physically.
And the study revealed the person responsible for the most recent incident suffered by the rough sleeper was a member of the public in 70 per cent of cases. Other perpetrators included security guards, business owners and fellow rough sleepers.