A police officer who appeared to kick and stamp on a man’s head in a melee at Manchester Airport on Tuesday afternoon has now been say Greater Manchester Police
Footage shared on social media appeared to show armed police surrounded a young man lying on the floor with his hands behind his back after being Tasered, before an officer appears to violently kick his face before stamping on his head.
In mitigation Greater Manchester Police say that multiple officers were assaulted leaving one with a broken nose as they responded to reports of an assault in Terminal Two
In a statement released this morning the force 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.”
Yesterday Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said the force understood why the video of the arrests ‘created alarm’.
He said: ‘We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about. The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.
‘In advance of what is shown in the footage available, we were called to reports of an assault at Terminal 2, Manchester Airport at 8.25pm on Tuesday 23 July.
‘The alleged suspect was seen on CCTV at a ticket machine in the car park and officers attended the location to arrest him.
During our response, three officers were assaulted. One female officer suffered a broken nose and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries which required hospital treatment.
‘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.’
Earlier Manchester MP Afzal Khan wrote on X
I’m aware of an incident at Manchester Airport where officers appear to use excessive force against an unarmed civilian. I’ve spoken to @gmpolice & the local MP & urge GMP to provide meaningful reassurances to the community & refer themselves to the IOPC as a matter of urgency.
Manchester Airport also posted on X
We are aware of an incident involving Greater Manchester Police officers that took place yesterday and, as a result, the force is investigating the matter. We will support the investigation in any way possible.
