The Victorian Coroners Court has decided to release police surveillance vision of a drunk man who died after being left by officers outside Dandenong Police Station.

The footage shows Gong Ling Tang, 53, unable to walk as officers lead him outside in May 2010.

The police involved tried to prevent the footage from being released, but the coroner ruled it was in the public's interest.

Tang's family has been desperately fighting to have the footage released to show how his dignity was never respected.

Mandarin interpreter Yu Lipski was working at the Dandenong police station the night Tang died.

Space to play or pause, M to mute, left and right arrows to seek, up and down arrows for volume. Listen Duration: 5 minutes 26 seconds 5 m Coroner orders release of CCTV death footage. Download 2.5 MB

It was her phone call to Fairfax Radio two weeks later which blew the whistle on the police and triggered a coronial inquiry.

Ms Lipski says she has always had enormous respect for police but she says that night their behaviour was atrocious.

Jane Dickson, president of Liberty Victoria, praised Ms Lipski for her efforts to protect Tang and report the incident at her workplace.

"She has my greatest admiration, I think it must have been extraordinarily difficult to have acted so courageously," she said.

"Both in the way in which she sought to protect the unfortunate deceased man [and] to then to reveal the circumstances in which she was required to act as an actual interpreter to bring them [the police officers] forward publicly.

"That's whistle-blowing in its truest sense."

Tang 'crawled like a dog with blood in his mouth'

Earlier in the day on May 12, 2010, Tang's wife called police to report her husband was at the house drunk and in breach of an apprehended violence order.

He was arrested and sent to the lock up at Dandenong Police Station to dry out.

The police did not know Tang was suffering from cirrhosis of the liver and was bleeding internally. As the night wore on his organs began to shut down. He was in agony.

Ms Lipski saw him rolling on the floor of the cell which was stained by blood and urine. She knew he was in trouble.

She says Tang said he needed a shower and that he needed to go to the hospital, but the police did nothing.

Tang was eventually released and was seen crawling out of his cell on his hands and knees, unable to walk.

Sorry, this video has expired Gong Ling Tang crawls from his cell in the Dandenong Police Station.

Ms Lipski said he was subjected to ridicule by the police all night.

"The officer yelled at him, 'get out and get up, I saw him crawling out of that cell door like a dog with blood in his mouth," Ms Lipski said.

"He couldn't move, he was trying to make some sound, he was disoriented, you could tell he was in pain.

"I could see a human suffering right in front of my eyes. I felt very sad."

Tang was then dragged out of the station by two female police and left by a roller door in a garage. Clutching his stomach, Tang repeatedly pressed an intercom button.

After several minutes two officers returned. One grabbed him by the scruff of the neck and pushed him outside into the rain.

Ms Lipski retrieved an umbrella for Tang as he lay dying in the rain. She also fetched water for him to drink while the police looked on.

Eventually an ambulance arrived to collect Tang at 9:00pm but by then he was in multiple organ failure.

Taken to intensive care, he died at Dandenong Hospital at 11:30 the next morning.

We let him down, we let his family down: police commissioner

The coronial inquest was told Tang died from advance chronic liver disease and gastro-intestinal bleeding. Contributing factors included hypothermia, bordering on severe.

Five police officers, all women, dealt with Tang that night and declined to give evidence.

One officer cited mental distress while another said she risked being prosecuted for manslaughter.

Asked if Tang was treated humanely, the Sergeant in Charge Megan Whitehead said: "I thought he was treated the same way as anyone we get in here".

Victoria Police Deputy Commissioner Tim Cartwright apologised to Tang's family.

Gong Ling Tang died of a gastrointestinal haemorrhage. ( Supplied )

"We fell well short of the standards expected in terms of both the care we showed and the respect and dignity we provided," he said.

"We missed many opportunities to get medical assistance for Mr Tang.

"I find his treatment deeply distressing, we should have done better for Ling Tang.

"We let him down, we let his family down and we let the community down."

Ms Dixon says what happened to Tang could still happen again.

"Liberty Victoria's not confident that these sorts of events won't happen again," she said. "Police are being expected to act as jailers.

"The numbers of people in custody has increased so dramatically in recent times. It's very difficult to be confident that there won't be further cases of dehumanising treatment."

Coroner Iain West has reserved his decision.