A police officer has been caught on camera refusing to help with an incident at a nearby supermarket.
The PCSO - who is seen parked up in marked police car - is told about a fight at a Co-Op store in Lancing, West Sussex, less than 300 yards away. He responds: "But then I'll have to deal with it."
He tells the witness - who pulled up alongside his car to inform him of a fight sparked by people trying to stop shoplifters - he is not part of a response unit.
The officer's response is now being reviewed by Sussex Police, which also apologised for his "clumsy language".
The exchange took place on Thursday - despite the dashcam footage stating a date of June 5, 2017 - and was shared on TikTok.
In the video, the witness is heard telling the officer: "You need to get around to the Co-op. Honestly, there's just been a fight around there because people are trying to stop the shoplifters that you're doing nothing about.
"There's a member of the public that's just been assaulted by a 15-year-old girl who's drunk, had a drink thrown in her face, got punched. People have called the police, we've come round here and you're sitting here."
But the police officer told him: "I'm not a response unit, unfortunately."
The member of the public then says: "I know you're not, but the sight of the car will make them scatter."
The police officer then replies: "Yeah, but then I'll have to deal with it."
The witness says: "Are you afraid to deal with it then?"
And the officer responds: "That's not the point."
The member of the public tells him: "It kind of is the point, that's the perception."
The officer then says: "It's why I'm here and not round there."
Good Morning Britain, who reported on the incident, said it took them 26 seconds to make the journey the police officer would have had to make from where he was parked up to the Co-op.
A spokesman from Sussex Police told the Mirror: "We are aware of video footage of a single-crewed Police Community Support Officer (PCSO) being approached by a member of the public to report an incident in Lancing.
"The matter was reported to us and a police officer attended the incident as an emergency. The PCSO also then attended the scene. The investigation into a report of assault and shoplifting is subject of a live investigation, and the victim has been contacted by officers."
Former Scotland Yard detectives Mike Neville and Peter Bleksley have criticised the video.
Mr Neville told the MailOnline he was "appalled" by the video.
He said every day the trust in the police "ebbs away", with the footage showing "police are not on your side".
"When you join the police you join to help the community. They have got to be able to deal with emergencies,' he said.
"It's no good just sitting there. I was appalled. Why was a PCSO driving a marked police car? Whatever they were doing there, if there's an emergency police have got to stop and deal with it."
Mr Bleksley told GMB the incident was a "dreadful look" for the force, and said a uniformed cop in a marked car should have dealt with the disturbance "and actually done what they are paid to do".
PCSOs do not have the power to use force to make an arrest or to attend an incident in a vehicle on a blue-light emergency, according to guidelines.
