Police officer at Manchester Airport suspended after video of men being kicked
A police officer has been suspended from all duties after a video emerged showing a man being kicked as he lay on the floor at Manchester Airport.
Footage of the assault, which was widely shared on social media showed a man being kicked and stamped in the head by officers from Greater Manchester Police after being tasered on Tuesday evening.
Hundreds of protesters gathered outside a Rochdale police station overnight to protest the act of brutality and chanted ‘GMP shame on you’.
Two of the alleged victims of the vicious assault have since responded for the first time, with their solicitor stating he has lodged a formal complaint to Greater Manchester Police.
A GMP spokesman said: ‘Following a thorough review of further information that has become available in relation to an incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday evening, Greater Manchester Police has suspended a police officer from all duties.
‘A referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for a full independent investigation.
‘We understand the deep concerns that have been widely raised with us, and will continue to meet and discuss these feelings with Greater Manchester residents and elected representatives, whilst this independent investigation takes place.’
In a video published on X last night, the two alleged victims were named as Ahmed and Fahir by Akhmed Yakoob, a solicitor.
In the video, Yakoob, who speaks on behalf them both, says they are heading to Rochdale Police station to make a formal complaint against the officers responsible.
Mr Yakoob said: ‘So I’m here with Ahmend and Fahir here. They were released not long ago from Cheadle Police Station, and then had to make their own way to the hospital.
‘But in reality, because they’ve had head injuries, it was the police’s duty to take them to a hospital.
‘But nevertheless they made their own way here, I’ve documented their injuries, and we are headed to Rochdale Police station to make a formal complaint of assault and wounding.’
He added their elderly mother was also there as a bystander.
Last night, demonstrators chanted ‘f*** the police’ as they massed outside the station where the victim and three other males were detained after their arrests on Tuesday evening at the airport.
Cries of ‘Allahu Akbar [God is greatest]’ and ‘GMP shame on you’’ were also heard during the demonstration, as a man holding a megaphone urged calm and a local Imam was seen trying to ease tensions within the crowd.
Protesters took place at Rochdale last night (Picture: Story Picture Agency)
One of the men gets sprayed and put in a headlock during the assault (Picture: X)
The Imam told protesters: ‘Rioting, being upset, is what these brothers want you to do. All I am asking is for you not to take the law into your own hands, be respectable citizens like our parents have taught us.’
According to the Manchester Evening News, some protesters let off fireworks outside the police station and one told the crowd: ‘We’re no longer going to settle for this police brutality. We put our trust in the police and what do they do instead they inflict violence upon us when we surrender to them.’
The force has referred itself to the independent police watchdog over the incident and one officer has been taken off active duty, but has not been suspended,
Greater Manchester Police has released a statement in which it says: ‘One male officer has been removed from operational duties and we are making a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.’
Paul Waugh, the town’s newly elected Labour MP, said he had spoken to the family involved and would meet them in person tomorrow.
Writing on Twitter, he said: ‘The video footage of a Greater Manchester police officer kicking and stamping on a man in Manchester Airport is truly shocking and disturbing.
‘Like many who have seen this clip, I am extremely concerned. I have had it confirmed that the man arrested is a Rochdale resident and I hope to meet the family as soon as possible.
‘I have expressed my concerns directly to the Assistant Chief Constable this evening and have been in touch with Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for policing of Greater Manchester.
‘It’s right that the police officer concerned has been removed from duties and that this incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I expect a thorough and swift investigation.’
In the short 40 second clip, a woman wearing a headscarf can be seen standing over the man.
The police officer holding a taser first brutally kicks the man in the head before he stamps down on the ground and on the top of his head.
He then uses his knee to push down on the man on the floor, and looks to try and arrest him on the spot.
A female police officer is then seen in the footage looking visibly shocked at the actions of her colleague and tells people to stand back.
In the background, an officer can be seen shouting ‘get down, get down’ at aman sitting in the chair, who is then pushed to the ground by two officers and placed in handcuffs.
Around ten officers were believed to have been involved (Picture: X)
At this point, the elderly headscarf-wearing woman can be seen wandering confusedly between the two men, who have been revealed to be her sons. She is then pushed away by a female officer.
Additional footage from after the two men were taken away shows officers attempting to corner a group of people in the same concourse.
In the video one officer who has his Taser out is seen pointing at a man and saying: ‘You’re going to get locked up.’
At this point one of the officers fires his pepper spay at one of the men, before he and another policeman grab hold of the man and wrestle him to the floor.
The men are then dragged away out of the building by officers towards a waiting police vehicle.
Amar Rafiq, who filmed some of the original video, told MailOnline: ‘I walked out to the concourse where the incident was taking place. The officer had the man put up against the wall, he was trying to push and shove the officer.
‘Moments later the other guy that had been there punched the officer, then they took both of them to the ground. They [police] were saying “you’re under arrest”.’
He added: ‘I was just gobsmacked. The police [officer] just kicked the guy in the face.
‘Everyone was worried about themselves, they started panicking and rushing away, they feared they would be attacked.’
Mr Rafiq said at least ten officers were present at the scene furing the incident.
Amar Minhas, from Leeds, told the BBC he was coming through arrivals at the airport when he saw police officers approach a man, in his early 20s, and pin him up against a wall, before a fight broke out.
He described the man ‘throwing punches, he was tasered, and fell to the floor’, adding ‘that’s when the policeman kicked him’.
In a statement released in the early hours of Thursday morning, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said: ‘A protest held last night outside Rochdale Police Station about our response at Manchester Airport has concluded safely, without incident.
‘We understand the immense feeling of concern and worry that people feel about our response and fully respect their right to demonstrate their views peacefully.
‘We have already referred our actions to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and will be in further discussions with them today.
‘We have spent the evening listening to community feedback and will continue to engage with communities and elected members to maintain strong partnership links and understand local views.’
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