Shocking video shows a police officer kicking and stomping on a man in the head at Manchester Airport in the UK on Tuesday night, sparking protests and accusations of police brutality.
A man is seen lying motionless on the ground and a uniformed officer with a Taser suddenly kicks him in the side of the head while other officers yell at witnesses to stand back. Video Show.
The man then stomps his boot on the back of the man’s head and drives his knee into his back while sitting on top of him, eliciting screams of shock from bystanders.
“Oh no!” a spectator shouts, as a woman wearing a hijab can be seen running over to help.
An officer is then seen kicking another man who was sitting on a nearby bench with his hands above his head. Both men are then handcuffed and appear to be detained.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) He told the BBC The firearms officers photographed were attacked while trying to arrest someone after a brawl broke out in the airport’s Terminal 2 at around 8.30pm local time on Tuesday.
Deputy Commissioner Wasim Chaudhry said: “The incident at Manchester Airport has been widely circulated on video and police are aware that it is a truly shocking event which understandably causes great concern to people.
“We understand that the use of this type of force during an arrest is an unusual occurrence and disturbing,” he said.
The case has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for further action and one officer has been removed from duty.
The incident sparked protests on Wednesday night, with hundreds of people descending on police station in Rochdale, Great Manchester, after the footage was widely shared online.
“We will no longer tolerate police violence. We trust the police and they use violence when we surrender. These are supposed to be the police but they are gangsters in uniform,” one protester told the crowd. The Manchester Evening News reported:.
Police said they had responded to reports of a fight at the airport and three officers were subjected to a “violent assault” when they attempted to arrest one of the suspects and were “knocked to the ground”, a police spokesman told the BBC.
“The officers at the scene were firearms officers and there was a clear risk that their firearms would be stolen during the raid,” the spokesman added.
Three officers were hospitalized with injuries, including a female officer who suffered a broken nose.
Two men were arrested on suspicion of assault, assaulting an emergency worker, disorderly conduct and obstructing police.
Two other men were arrested on suspicion of disorderly conduct and assaulting emergency personnel, police said.
Eyewitness Amar Minhas, from Leeds, told the BBC he was walking through the arrivals hall when he witnessed the chaotic scenes.
Officers approached one of the men, believed to be in his early 20s, and “pushed him against a wall.”
Another man then “attacked the officers” and a fight broke out, Minhas said. The man was pinned against a wall, punched, and then an officer used a Taser on him, knocking him to the ground.
“That’s when the officer kicked him,” he said.
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham called the video “disgusting” and said he understood the “widespread and deep concern” it caused.
