A police force has criticised members of the public who chose to film an injured officer on their mobile phones rather than help him.

The officer had been knocked off his bike during a pursuit in Coventry. Police have criticised the passersby who decided to film the stricken officer rather than help during the incident on Stoney Stanton Road on Wednesday.

Among those commenting was the police and crime commissioner of West Midlands police, David Jamieson, who expressed his disappointment at the bystanders.

In a tweet, Jamieson said: “I want you to know how disappointed I am to hear some bystanders filmed rather than helped.”

The officer is believed to be part of the West Midlands police road harm reduction team, which tweeted: “Very disappointed to report that when one of our team was knocked off his bike while pursuing a stolen bike the first thing that people thought to do was to record the incident on their mobile phones rather than help the rider. Luckily, we were close! Any info via 101 please ...”

West Midlands Police Road Harm Reduction Team (@WMPRHRT) Very disappointed to report that when one of our team was knocked off his bike while pursuing a stolen bike the first thing that people thought to do was to record the incident on their mobile phones rather than help the rider. Luckily we were close! Any info via 101 please...

The tweet was shared hundreds of times and the West Midlands police force contact Twitter account branded it as “absolutely disgusting behavior”. It said: “For those filming our injured colleague ... the difference between us & you is if you ever need our help in future, we will still respond.”

The officer was taken to hospital but was discharged with “bumps, bruises and a bit of shock”. In a later update, the team added: “He has no long lasting injuries and is recuperating at home.”

However, some defended the actions of those filming.

Twitter user taxidriverjohn said: “Nothing wrong with filming the police although the police do seem to have a problem accepting that the public can film them. The difference between you and us is that you get very well paid to respond to things like this.”

But the WMP force contact account fired back, saying: “Hi John, I would have thought there is a moral problem with filming any injured human being following a road traffic collision, no matter what uniform they wear. #PoliceAreHumanToo”

