Family of man kicked at Manchester Airport ‘concerned’ for hurt police officers
The family of a man who was allegedly kicked in the head at Manchester Airport by a police officer has spoken out after a new video emerged.
The first video – appearing show a police officer kick a man in the head after he was pinned to the floor on Tuesday – caused an uproar across the country and led to protests in Manchester.
New video has since emerged showing the violence just moments before officers attempted to restrain a man at the ticket machines in Terminal 2.
The two men involved were named as brothers Muhammad Fahir Amaaz and Amaad Amaaz.
The family’s lawyer, Akhmed Yakoob, who has since stood down, said previously they were left ‘traumatised.’
Now the family have expressed how they feel about the officers involved in the incident.
The family of Mr Amaaz said they had ‘real concern for any police officer injured,’ the BBC reports.
The incident led to Greater Manchester Police suspending the unnamed officer, who is now under a criminal investigation, while the force referred itself to the police watchdog the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC).
Greater Manchester’s mayor Andy Burnham urged people to stay calm and not to ‘rush to judgement’ after the video emerged, saying the situation is ‘complicated’ with ‘two sides to it.’
What the new video shows
New footage obtained by the Manchester Evening News appears to show a group of people standing by the ticket machines in Terminal 2, with a man in a light blue outfit facing one of the machines before chaos breaks out.
The video appears to show three officers approach him from behind and try to restrain him, with a male officer seemingly pushing his head down.
Then another male, dressed in a dark t-shirt, seems to grab the male officer and the two start punching each other.
The male officer lowers to the ground as the man appears to repeatedly hit him.
A female officer is restraining the man in blue before he appears to break free and strike her and another female officer before the group falls onto the ground.
The situation then escalates to the point a male officer seems to point a taser at the man in a dark t-shirt before the man in blue runs at him from behind.
Greater Manchester Police said that one of the female police officers suffered a broken nose during the assault, and she appears to hold her nose in the video of the aftermath.
Lawyer for family steps down
A lawyer acting for the family, Akhmed Yakoob, said earlier that trained officers ‘should not be losing control,’ and ‘nothing can justify a kick and a stomp to the head of a defenseless man.’
But now Mr Yakoob has stepped down as the family’s representative after causing some controversy.
He said in a video posted on Instagram on Sunday night: ‘After consulting with the family I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer.’
He also claimed widespread attention on the case was ‘unfair on the Greater Manchester Police and the family.’
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