Graphic Warning
DYING WITHOUT DIGNITY
Sickening footage captures moment dying ex-policeman is taunted and mocked by hostel residents and STAFF as he sits slumped in chair
THIS is the horrifying moment laughing residents and staff cover an ex-policeman with debris and shove toilet paper up his nose as he sits dying in a Birmingham hostel for the homeless.
Harrowing footage depicts 53-year-old Adrian Bill slumped in a chair in front of a TV as he is humiliated by lodgers and workers.
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His death was caught on camera by an undercover reporter in March this year as part of an investigation into government-funded hostels.
The hidden camera catches onlookers placing plastic forks in his hat, putting toilet paper up his nose, and piling a warning sign and plastic pot on top of him as he sits unconscious in a chair.
At one point in the clip, giggling security can be seen taking snaps of the vile prank, apparently assuming he is drunk.
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As residents start realising there is something seriously wrong they attempt to call for help, only for one security guard to dismiss their concerns, saying “he’s breathing”, before walking away from the scene.
Paramedics were eventually called to Waterside House hostel in Newtown, Birmingham, but by this point it is too late – the former cop is pronounced dead at the scene, with attempts to resuscitate him having failed.
One security guard from the centre who was not involved in the incident later said: ";That is his last day on earth and they treat him like s***."
Reporter Martin Read was told by Mr Bill that he had been an undercover police officer but had been plagued by drug and alcohol problems.
Before his death, Mr Bill told the reporter that workers at the charity were only worried about money.
A former officer with West Midlands Police, Mr Bill had received a Chief Constable's commendation for bravery in the 1990s after he tackled a gunman firing into crowds in Birmingham city centre.
Mike Olley, general manager of the Westside Business Improvement District, said he had been "stumped" watching the footage of Mr Bill's last hours, slamming the lack of respect given to the man.
He told The Sun Online: "He was the copper that other coppers wanted around.
"If the action got going, he was the called-on bloke."
He described Mr Bill as a "man full of courage".
Mr Olley criticised "poor farmers" who took advantage of those people in need but did not properly support them.
He compared the support given to abandoned dogs to that offered to people living on the streets, saying animals were often given more help than humans in need.
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A recent inquest into Mr Bill’s death found he died of bronchopneumonia, made worse by a long history of substance abuse and the morphine and alcohol present in his system at the time of his death.
He was an award-winning policeman before succumbing to his inner demons, the inquest heard.
Bill was commended in the “Best of Broad Street Awards” in 2011, in the top police officer category.
Commenting on the investigation, former Work and Pensions Secretary Iain Duncan Smith slammed the system, saying it was "open to enormous abuse".
He said: "As this investigation has found, too many places get the money without doing anything in terms of support.
"We need to safeguard the good charities which actually do the work, of which there are many, and make sure they get the money."
He added that the circumstances around Mr Bill's death was "the worst example" of abuse and neglect.
He further criticised the apparent bullying culture that went unchecked by staff in the hostel, with beds covered in bed bugs and chaotic support sessions that left vulnerable people with no privacy.
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In an interview with ITV, the security firm said they are satisfied correct and appropriate actions were taken during the incident, having evaluated the shocking footage.
Expectations UK, the company responsible for Waterside House hostel for the homeless, told ITV that while they outsource security, they "do not have a say on the security staff, however, in their defence the photos that were being taken were for their report”.
A Department of Communities and Local Government spokesman said: "It is completely unacceptable that people are living in these conditions."
Undercover: Life and Death In A Homeless Hostel aired on ITV1 on Thursday 10.40pm.
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