A video showing a NSW Police officer pushing a homeless man in western Sydney has sparked outrage after going viral, and bodycam footage is now being reviewed.
The short clip, shared on social media by Glen Fisher, was recorded on High Street in Penrith on June 23 and shows a male and female officer in a tense exchange with a man in a pink hoodie and coat, who has a shopping trolley full of belongings.
At one point in the clip the male officer shoves the man and repeatedly tells him to leave the area, and later pushes him again and says “before you go, what’s your name?”
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The video attracted thousands of comments on social media, and while most were critical of the officer’s conduct, some defended him and said it was unclear what occurred before the video began.
A NSW Police spokesperson said body-worn camera footage recorded by the two officers was being reviewed by their commander.
The spokesperson also said the confrontation occurred when the officers, who were in the area for an unrelated matter, “saw a man allegedly behaving aggressively towards members of the public before a business owner asked the man to leave”.
“The 47-year-old man was issued a move-on direction, which police allege he initially failed to comply with,” the spokesperson said.
“Following a further interaction with police, the man complied with the move-on direction and no further police action was taken.”
Local MP Melissa McIntosh spoke out about the incident on Sunday, and said “many people have raised their concerns with me today about an incident involving a male police officer and a homeless man on High Street in Penrith”.
“I have written to the Nepean Police Area Commander, the NSW Minister for Police, Yasmin Catley, and the State Member for Penrith Karen McKeown requesting that the matter be reviewed,” she said.
“Thank you for looking out for each other. On a broader matter, there’s too many people experiencing homelessness and doing it tough across our community.”
Header image: Left, right, the officer shoving the man (Instagram).
