Police were forced to apologise after a man who said he was dropping off food for vulnerable family members was threatened with spray and arrested.
Footage shows the moment a Greater Manchester Police officer approached the man outside an address in Fallowfield, Manchester, on Friday.
The man told the officer he is "picking up a plant at the same time" and then asks him: "Give me a ticket for what? You're a bored guy, there's groups of people all over the place."
He refuses to give his details to the male officer and is then told he faces arrest for "breaking Covid guidelines" and is told to put his hands on his head.
The officer then threatens to spray him if he does not comply.
When handcuffs are placed on him the man becomes agitated and tells him the cuffs are hurting and pleads to him to "twist that top one around".
He is then pushed against a car and told to lean over it, to which the man says: "You just keep saying things over and over again, you're not helping, you're not diluting the situation, you're making it worse. Because I come to drop some stuff off."
A woman is then heard saying to the officer: "In the current situation, in the current pandemic, there's more pressing situations to be dealing with than coming over and bothering somebody going about his business on his own."
The officer tells the woman: "Listen... you'll be next."
Before the man is placed in a police vehicle he tells a number of officers: "I'm dropping food off to vulnerable members of my family who can't do nothing and I'm taking a tree home with me."
It is understood the man was then de-arrested and issued with a fixed penalty notice.
In a statement issued on Saturday, GMP said: "We are aware of footage circulating regarding an officer's actions at an incident in Fallowfield in Manchester.
"Although the matter is being investigated fully by our professional standards branch, our initial review shows that the incident wasn't dealt with in the professional way we would expect and we apologise for that.
"The public rightly expect the highest standards from our officers and we will investigate this matter thoroughly and properly.
"A senior member of the force is speaking to the man and his family today.
"We would ask that the public understand the stresses that our officers are working under at present and we hope this apology will be welcome to those involved."
Police now have powers to fine people for leaving their home "without reasonable excuse" under the new Health Protection Regulations which were passed by parliament earlier this month.
