The mayor of Greater Manchester urged people “not to rush to judgment” over the Manchester airport incident after new footage appeared to show a violent and frenetic lead-up.
Protests erupted in Rochdale and Manchester city centre after a video circulated of an officer allegedly kicking and stamping on a man as he lay face-down during an arrest at the airport on Tuesday.
A Greater Manchester police (GMP) constable has been advised he is under criminal investigation for assault over the incident, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Friday.
On Saturday, the Manchester Evening News published new footage believed to be of the preceding events.
The video appears to show a group of people standing by ticket machines in Terminal 2 (T2) and a man in a light blue outfit is facing one of the machines. It appears three officers approach him from behind and try to restrain him, with a male officer seemingly pushing his head down.
Another man, wearing a dark T-shirt, appears to grab the male officer and the two start to throw punches at one another. The male officer seems to lower to the ground as the man repeatedly strikes him.
Meanwhile a female officer is restraining the man in blue, but he appears to break free and strike her and another female officer, with one ending up on the ground. The male officer then seems to point his stun gun at the man in a dark T-shirt before the man in blue runs at him from behind.
They appear to grapple until the man in blue lies still on the ground, face-down, and a woman kneels by his side. The officer then appears to kick and then stamp on his head, which was shown in the footage already widely circulated.
Greater Manchester police has opened a public portal for more footage and it is appealing for witnesses to three incidents.
The first is “an altercation between passengers” from Qatar Airways flight QR023 that arrived at 7.20pm, which they said may have taken place on the flight or in T2 baggage hall.
There was then a “violent altercation involving members of the public” in T2 at about 8.22pm, GMP said.
At 8.28pm in the terminal car park’s pay point area, three police officers were assaulted and left with head injuries including a broken nose, it added.
After the Manchester Evening News published the latest footage, Greater Manchester’s mayor, Andy Burnham, said in a statement: “As I said on Thursday, this is a complicated situation with two sides to it. It is why I urged people not to rush to judgment.
“Following incidents in the run-up to the footage people saw this week, four individuals were arrested and are now on police bail.
“It is frustrating that we have not been able to put more video into the public domain but that is because this is a live investigation.
“People now need to step back and allow the IOPC’s criminal investigation into the officer’s conduct to move forward, alongside the parallel GMP investigation into other potential offences, so that a complete picture can be presented.
“Given all these investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
The family of the man who was reportedly kicked and stamped on issued a “plea for calm” and urged people not to take part in any further protests, their MP said earlier on Saturday.
The officer facing a criminal investigation was also served with a disciplinary notice to inform him he was being investigated for potential gross misconduct for a number of alleged breaches of police professional standards, including his use of force, an IOPC spokesperson said.
On Wednesday, a large crowd protested outside Rochdale police station, reportedly shouting “GMP shame on you”, while on Thursday, demonstrators blocked roads and tram lines in a protest which started outside Burnham’s office in central Manchester.
Source: theguardian.com
