A Sussex Police PCSO must be ashamed for refusing to respond to an attack that took place just 200 yards from his station.
The officer was parked on the side of a road in Lancing, West Sussex, as an assault happened 26 seconds away outside a nearby Co-op on Thursday.
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The footage showed a car approaching the police marked vehicle and then winding down its window.
They then told the officer about the “disturbance” at the Co-op store.
He claimed that police were called, and expressed his frustration at the fact that an officer was sitting in his vehicle just a few hundreds yards away.
Driver:
You need to go to the Co-op. There’s been some fighting around because the people trying to stop shoplifters are doing everything they can.
A 15-year old girl has just assaulted a public member. She was drunk and had drinks thrown at her, as well as being punched.
The officer refused to respond to the call. MailOnline reports.
He replied: “I’m unfortunately not a reaction unit.”
The PCSO was told by the witness: “‘I don’t know if you are, but they will be scattered at the sight.
Then he replied, “Yeah. But then I have to deal it.”
The exchange between the driver and officer was then shared via TikTok.
They share some but not all of the powers with police.
Although they are not able to arrest anyone, PCSOs can request that a policeman detain a suspect.
The powers of the police are restricted to a few things, such as imposing fixed penalties and requesting names and addresses from anyone being anti-social. They can also take alcohol away from a minor.
Sussex Police confirms that they are investigating the incident. The PCSO was apologised to for his “clumsy words”.
Sussex Police spokesman said that they were aware of video footage showing a PCSO (Police Community Support Officer) who was approached by someone to report a crime in Lancing.
“A police officer was dispatched to the scene as an urgent matter. The PCSO then arrived on the scene.
The investigation of an assault report and shoplifting has been taken live, and officers have contacted the victim.”
Nick Dias of West Sussex Local Policing added, “keeping people safe and secure is our number one priority. We work with officers and PSOs to combat crime and antisocial behaviour in many challenging situations.
The local retailer and partner work together to combat anti-social behaviour, including assaults against shop employees.
We are sorry about the crude language that the PCSO used in this exchange.
As a priority, a police unit was sent to the location. The response we made to the incident is under review.”
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