Bread to rights! Police officer caught on CCTV throwing his sandwich crusts out of patrol car door is given a permanent record and told to ‘reflect’ on his behaviour

A police officer caught on camera throwing bread crusts out of his patrol car was told to ‘think about’ his behavior and had his criminal record written down.

The male Thames Valley police officer, based at Witney police station, was captured on CCTV by an Oxfordshire resident opening the passenger door of his marked car and throwing the bread ends onto a grass edge.

But the irate homeowner then stepped outside and demanded in a video he filmed and posted to TikTok that the fresh-faced officer collect his trash and dispose of it properly — noting that a citizen would likely be fined on the spot . .

Despite being caught red-handed on CCTV, the young police officer initially tries to deny throwing litter, but Thames Valley Police have said he has been ‘given a chance to reflect on their actions and from them to learn’.

The force said: ‘The video has been viewed internally and we have spoken to the officer involved.’

The viral video, filmed on Tuesday morning, begins with the resident asking for the officer’s badge number and the police station – which he confirms is Witney, ten miles west of Oxford.

The man who was filming asks the officer, “Do you have an excuse for why you stopped in front of my house and threw trash out of your car?” Is there a reason for that?’

The officer denies that there is any litter and says: ‘No, I didn’t throw any litter. Those are actually just sandwich fillings.’

“Oh yes,” the man filming responds, pointing his camera at some sandwich crusts that have been discarded in the grassy area.

He adds, “So you’re okay with pulling up in front of someone else’s house and throwing your lunch or breakfast outside my house? That’s acceptable, right?

“If I did that in front of a police officer, right, or in front of a litter enforcement officer, right, I’d get nicked, right? Of course I would. You have no respect, do you?’

The officer then responds, “I completely understand where you’re coming from and I understand that maybe it didn’t look that bad, and I’ll totally take that on board.

“I’ll keep that in mind for the future.”

The person filming then responds, “Pick up the damn scab and take it with you… I’m not moving until you fucking do.”

“It’s my house, and you just throw your food on the side of the road without thinking.”

The officer’s colleague then interrupts him to say that the roadside does not belong to the person filming.

The cameraman fires back, “It doesn’t matter, it doesn’t matter – oh so it’s okay, right? It’s public property, so that makes it even worse, right?

‘I’m going to file a complaint… about him. Who do you think You Are? Do you think the police are so over their heads that you can get away with it?’

As the officer who dropped the scabs tries to say he’s going to pick up the trash, the resident adds, “Pick it up.” Pick it up. Then pick it up.’

When the police officer asks him to stop shouting, he says: ‘I’ll shout whatever I want, there’s no law against that, right?’

The cameraman then steps back into his driveway and shouts, “Okay. Now pick up the damn thing. Now I’m on private property. Pick it up.

“How dare you come to someone’s house and throw your food in front of his house, even if it is public property or not? Who do you think you are? Pick it up. Now.’

The officer says, “I will.” Will you please stop yelling at me like that? I don’t think that’s really respectful.’

“I don’t think it’s respectful if you throw your food outside my house,” the homeowner fires back. “Pick it up.”

‘I will, if you leave me alone. Okay?’ the officer says, before picking up the scabs.

The video ends with the cameraman saying, “Come along. You are fired. Go away. Stop throwing food outside your car.”

Footage shared with MailOnline shows a male and a female police officer visiting the resident’s home on Wednesday evening to inform him that the police officer has been ordered to undergo a ‘reflective exercise’, which will appear on his criminal record .

The female officer tells the man, “We spoke to the officer and said that this is not right (and that) you need to think about your actions.

“He has accepted that it is wrong and has apologized, not to you, but this is why we are here. We covered it tonight.

‘This reflective practice will go on his record, that’s what happened, so that’s on his record, and we’re here to say, ‘Apologies, that shouldn’t have happened.’

She added: “(His actions) were not right, and he recognizes that and he has learned from it.

“And you know, like you said, he’s young in the service and this will stick with him and he won’t do it again.”

While the man says he considers throwing away bread to be littering, the other officer seems to agree, saying, “Yeah, he’s still throwing, he’s still throwing, so it’s not right.”

Thames Valley Police said it had been made aware of the video and passed it on to senior officers and the professional standards department.

It was later confirmed to MailOnline that the matter was no longer referred to the department, which handles complaints about officer misconduct.

It said: ‘We are aware that a video is being shared widely on social media involving one of our officers.

‘The video has been viewed internally and we have spoken to the officer involved.

“We also went to discuss the encounter and the officer’s actions with the person who recorded the video.”

The police added: ‘We aim to learn from our encounters with the public so that the officer involved has had the opportunity to reflect on their actions and learn from them.

“We will also ask our independent research group, which consists of citizens, if they have any further recommendations for us.”

The original video, tagged #policecorruption and #norespect, has been viewed nearly 500,000 times on TikTok, while reposts total at least another two million.

Viewers were divided over whether the filming man was justified in his approach.

One said: ‘Wow, it was a scab for the birds. You can see who was shaking the curtain.”

A second wrote: ‘Aww tbf (to be honest) he’s a young fella and the birds will eat the bread, no harm done.’

A third added: ‘I throw crusts to the birds all the time lol I feel sorry for the young fella.’

But another user said: ‘Good for you mate! Woody thinks he can do whatever he wants because of the uniform double standard.”

Someone else said: ‘No, it’s okay for them to leave rubbish but we would do it, that’s an £80 on the spot fine.’

The cameraman who uploaded the video later admitted that he could have approached the situation more tactfully.

In response to a comment saying he was “letting himself down” with the way he spoke to officers, the cameraman said: “You’re right, I did, I lost it.

“I’m not happy about it, but the arrogance of it pushed all the buttons.”

Littering is a criminal offense under the Environmental Protection Act 1990 and is punishable by a fixed penalty notice of up to £150, which may be increased to a fine of £2,500 if not paid within 28 days.

Some littering offenses have shocked those who received them, including a nurse from Kent who was fined £100 after feeding some pieces of bread to ducks by the river.

Dementia nurse Susan Watson, 68, said she was confronted by an enforcement officer waving an “18-inch long” card, who then suggested what she was doing could be construed as tipping.

Under plans announced by the Government earlier this year, littering fines will more than triple to a maximum of £500, under a new crackdown on anti-social behaviour.