US man dumps woman from wheelchair while trying to steal it

A criminal in the US city of Phoenix has been arrested after video footage showed him dumping a woman out of her wheelchair in an attempt to steal it.

The video was shared by the City of Phoenix Police Department and shows the man, who was wearing festive reindeer slippers at the time, sitting in a carriage on the city's light rail service with a woman using a wheelchair and a number of other passengers.

As the train enters the station he gets up and pushes the chair towards the door as the woman holds on to poles to try and stop him.

He then roughly dumps the woman out of the chair before pushing it off the train as the other passengers give chase.

He's then tackled by another passenger before leaving the chair behind and running down the platform.

Austin Shurbutt faces serious charges. Photo / Supplied

After the release of the video, 26-year-old Austin Shurbutt was arrested and faces charges including robbery, kidnapping and assault.

He was still wearing the reindeer slippers when he was arrested.