Manchester Airport incident – latest: Police rally behind officer filmed kicking man as new footage emerges
Greater Manchester Police officer suspended from duty as watchdog launches criminal investigation
Support truly
independent journalism
Our mission is to deliver unbiased, fact-based reporting that holds power to account and exposes the truth.
Whether $5 or $50, every contribution counts.
Support us to deliver journalism without an agenda.
Louise Thomas
Editor
Police have rallied behind an officer who was suspended from duty after being filmed kicking a man at Manchester Airport as fresh footage of the incident has emerged.
The police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), launched a criminal investigation into the Greater Manchester Police officer for assault after a video appeared to show suspect Mohammed Fahir, 19, being stamped on while being restrained on the floor on 23 July.
The incident sparked angry protests in the city centre and in Rochdale – however, a new CCTV clip has now revealed the run-up to the now-viral scene. The video obtained by the Manchester Evening News appears to show two men attacking one male and two female police officers moments beforehand.
Following its release, the Greater Manchester Police Federation defended police, saying the fresh footage casts the incident in a “very different light” and shows “we need to protect the protectors”.
Agreeing, Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, told MailOnline the new clip provided a “different perspective altogether”.
New video footage shows chaos at Manchester Airport before man kicked in head
New video footage has emerged showing the run-up to a now-viral scene from Manchester Airport in which a police officer appears to kick a man in the head.
The thirty-second clip, obtained by the Manchester Evening News, shows a group of people standing around a ticket machine inside a car park at Terminal 2.
Three police officers - one male and two female - approach two men standing by one of the ticket machines and proceed to restrain one of them, who was wearing a matching light blue top and shorts.
The second man, wearing a black t-shirt, then circles around the male officer, who was leading the restraint of the first man, and appears to begin to attack him.
The pair then seem to begin punching one another while the first man hits the two female officers multiple times.
The man in the black t-shirt is eventually tased by the male officer, at which point the second man looks to have knocked the two other officers down and proceeds to punch the male officer in the back of the head.
After the male officer and the first man wrestle to the ground, he appears to be tased by the female officers. The male officer then gets up and appears to kick the man in the head, where the video ends.
It is the first time footage has been published of what happened in the moments before the initial video, which also shows the same incident.
Police rally behind Greater Manchester Police officer filmed kicking man
Police have rallied behind an officer who was suspended from duty after being filmed kicking a man at Manchester Airport as fresh footage of the incident has emerged.
Following the release of the new video, the Greater Manchester Police Federation defended police, saying the clip casts the incident in a “very different light” and shows “we need to protect the protectors”.
Agreeing, Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, told MailOnline the new clip provided a “different perspective altogether”.
Ex-firearms sergeant calls for home secretary to resign over fresh footage
A former firearms sergeant has called for the home secretary to resign after new footage of the incident at Manchester Airport emerged.
A new CCTV clip has now revealed the run-up to the now-viral scene, appearing to show two men attacking one male and two female police officers moments beforehand.
Harry Tangye branded it “absolutely disgusting” that officers had been thrown “under the bus” over the incident.
Speaking to LBC on Monday morning, he said: “People have got to lose their jobs now.”
He listed Yvette Cooper, as well as the MP for Rochdale Paul Waugh, and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson.
‘Nobody is in possession of complete picture’ of incident, says Manchester mayor
The Mayor of Greater Manchester has said “nobody is in possession of the complete picture” of the Manchester Airport incident earlier this week.
Andy Burnham urged people to “take a step back” and allow the authorities to carry out their investigations after the Manchester Evening News published new footage on Saturday which showed the lead-up to an officer allegedly kicking and stamping on a man as he lay face-down during an arrest.
He told Sky News’s Sunday Morning With Trevor Phillips: “It’s a complicated situation, a very violent situation actually, and there were issues on both sides.
“That’s why I asked other people not to rush to judgment because of the complexity of it and, simply, everyone who’s having their say, nobody has got all of the facts. Nobody is in possession of the complete picture.”
Asked when some kind of conclusion could expected to be reached by the Independent Office for Police Conduct, Mr Burnham said: “I know it’s a frustration in the world we live in, everybody wants instant conclusions, but life’s not like that, is it?
“We have in the last few days people making complete judgments on the one side or the other. You’re picking a side in this whole thing and the truth always lies somewhere in between.
“Life’s more complicated than sometimes people portray it to be on social media.”
The mayor said there were three stages to the incident, with a prior dispute taking place on a plane before the footage seen by the public.
Lawyer for family at centre of controversy announces he is stepping aside
The lawyer for the family at the centre of the Manchester Airport controversy has announced that he is stepping aside.
Akhmed Yakoob claimed Muhammed Fahir, 19, was the victim of an “attempted assassination” that had left him “fighting for his life” in an interview with LBC.
After his comments drew criticism, Mr Yakoob, the director at the Birmingham-based firm Maurice Andrews Solicitors, accused the media of trying to “sabotage” him.
Speaking to reporters from the back of a car on Sunday night, the Guardian reported he said: “You may have seen the various media reports about me in the last couple of days.
“The media have tried to sabotage me. It’s not the first time they’ve done this though, but they’ve made this whole situation about me rather than police brutality and police misconduct, which is unfair on Greater Manchester police and the family.
“So after consulting with the family I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer. But I will be keeping a close eye on this.”
Watch: Andy Burnham claims Manchester Airport footage 'doesn't show full event'
Subscribe to Independent Premium to bookmark this article
Want to bookmark your favourite articles and stories to read or reference later? Start your Independent Premium subscription today.