A former Metropolitan Police Chief Superintendent has said that he believed that racism played a significant part’ in the incident at Manchester Airport where a police officer appeared to kick and stamp on a man’s head
Speaking on BBC Radio 4’s today programme Dai Babu accused Greater Manchester Police of having a cynical attempt to put an senior Asian officer up front to try and say we are dealing with this
He told the programme that you can count on one hand the number of senior Asian officers in the force
He added that GMP had been slow out of the blocks in dealing with this and that at a time when Trust in the police is low,this is another incident where people will be concerned
“I’m not sure Greater Manchester Police has the skills necessary to manage working with the communities to try to reduce the tension.”
Meanwhile the Body that investigates the police has confirmed that it has begun its inquiry into the incident Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2 on Tuesday.
IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates said: “We can confirm we are independently investigating the level of force used by a Greater Manchester Police officer as part of an incident in which a number of men were arrested at Manchester Airport on Tuesday 23 July. We have been advised by the force that the officer has now been suspended from all duties.
“We appreciate the footage which was shared on social media has attracted widespread shock and concern. It is vitally important we investigate all of the circumstances surrounding the incident. We are independent of the police and our investigation will be thorough and robust.
“Our enquiries are in their very early stages but we have already secured a significant amount of body worn video and CCTV footage which will be subject to detailed analysis. We appreciate people want answers and we will work to provide those answers as quickly as we can.
“Updates will be provided as our investigation progresses.”
