Grandmother Who Missed Last Bus Seeks Shelter from Cold at Police Station but Is Turned Away

After Being Expelled, Stayed at Another Police Station Before Returning Home
District Police Officer Files Complaint... Investigation Underway

A woman in her 70s who missed the last train past midnight in the dead of winter went to a police substation to warm herself up but was kicked out. Afterwards, the woman filed a complaint against the police officers, and an investigation is currently underway.

According to Yonhap News on the 28th, the Dongbu Police Station in Busan is conducting an investigation into the complaint filed by a woman in her 70s, Ms. B, against the staff at the A substation under its jurisdiction.

Busan Dongbu Police Station. [Photo by Yonhap News]

According to the police and publicly released footage, Ms. B visited the A substation around 12:05 a.m. on the 14th of last month. At the time, she had missed the last train departing from Busan Station to another region, had no money, and the weather was cold, which led her to seek shelter at the substation. Ms. B sat on the substation sofa for about 40 minutes before being forcibly removed by police officers.

The substation’s internal closed-circuit television (CCTV) footage clearly shows one officer forcibly grabbing Ms. B’s arm and pulling her outside, while another officer locks the door. After being expelled from this substation, Ms. B went to another police station to warm herself and spent time there before taking the first train home.

Ms. B later filed a complaint protesting the attitude of the substation staff. The A substation stated that due to frequent 112 emergency calls and the inability to keep handling complainants indefinitely, as well as Ms. B repeatedly provoking the staff and obstructing their duties, they had to remove her from the premises.

They explained that when a quarrel almost broke out between staff and Ms. B due to her rude behavior, a managerial-level employee took preventive action by ordering her to leave. Since the substation’s internal CCTV does not record audio, it is difficult to verify whether there was a verbal altercation.

A representative from the Dongbu Police Station said, "We are conducting an internal investigation together with the Busan Police Agency, and we will take appropriate measures after reviewing the investigation results from the police station that received the complaint."