Manchester cops MUST release bodycam footage of airport violence – what we’ve seen is not full story, ex Met cop says
THE public does not know the full story behind the notorious Manchester Airport brawl and bodycam footage should be released, an ex-Met cop says.
Major uproar and mass protests were sparked earlier this month when a clip uploaded to the internet showed a male cop stamping on a man’s head as he was lying on the ground.
During the clip, which went viral on social media, a woman in a headscarf can be seen kneeling next to the man as the cop stands above them, holding a taser.
Additional footage, shedding light on what happened before the clip was filmed, later came to light, showing police officers being punched amid chaotic scenes at the airport.
The shocking newer clip appeared to show a man thumping a cop repeatedly as he slumps back into a chair, and another hitting a female cop in the face in a brutal attack.
Retired Met Police officer Graham Wettone said that viral videos often only show a “small snippet” of what has happened, and British cops should consider releasing body-worn video when necessary.
He told The Sun: “Police officers do not walk around tasering people or using force on people unless something’s happened beforehand.
“Most police use of force is reactive – it’s not proactive. So you react to a situation, react to risk threats that you, you see, you honestly hold, and to protect yourself, your colleagues and the public.
“So there was always going to be something in the background, a lead up to this, incidents that happened that that led to the police being called, led to the police being there, and then led to police using force to detain or arrest somebody.”
Mr Wettone, who served in the Metropolitan Police for 30 years, stressed that we still have not seen “the full facts”, and have only so far seen “some of the lead-up”.
He added: “So we haven’t seen the whole thing. We’ve seen some of it. We’ve seen some of the lead-up.”
Speaking about his experience as a policeman, and while avoiding leaping to any conclusions in this case, he said: “There are always two or three sides to every story.
“As a police officer you get one person’s version, speak to somebody else, speak to a third person, and they’re all slightly different.
“All we are getting with these videos is a small snippet of what people want to show us.”
In the second clip, a group of people can be seen milling around a ticket machine in Manchester Airport’s Terminal 2, as three cops including two women and a man head towards them.
One of the officers goes to grab the hands of a man who is facing the ticket machine to restrain him, in video obtained by MEN.
It appears to be Mohammed Fahir, 19, the same man whose head is stamped on by a male police officer in the original clip.
As he resists the three police try to gain control of the situation, which is when a second man gets involved and lunges for the male cop.
This man, in a grey t-shirt, can be seen hitting the male cop in the face a whopping six times before he tasers him and is able to back away.
Around the same time the man who appears to be Fahir seems to hit a female officer in the face repeatedly until she falls to the ground.
Chaos erupts in the airport terminal as the three officers struggle to fend off the group from all sides.
The original video showed a male cop stamping on Fahir’s head as he lies on the floor.
A woman in a headscarf kneels next to him as the cop stands above them, holding a taser.
In this new footage the same woman tries to desperately pull back by the man in grey by his t-shirt, as he punches the male cop.
While the new footage may have shed more light on what happened at the airport, unanswered questions about the incident remain.
Mr Wettone said: “I think policing… now needs to be get up to date and consider releasing, as they do in America very early on, some of the body worn video on occasions when it’s applicable.
“When it’s relevant and when it’s necessary.”
Timeline of events leading up to disturbing video
VIDEO of a cop appearing to kick a 19-year-old in the face before stamping on his head has led to unrest on the streets of Manchester.
The disturbing footage was captured at Manchester Airport on Tuesday – forcing GMP to suspend an officer and refer themselves to police watchdog IOPC.
According to a source close to the teen’s family, this is what happened in the run-up to the shocking scenes which have since gone viral.
- Fahir and Amaad’s mum was allegedly involved in an altercation with a man on her flight from Pakistan to Manchester
- Once the plane had landed, the same man then rammed the mum with a luggage trolley, it is claimed
- He is also said to have then hurled racist remarks at her while she waited for her suitcases at Terminal 2
- The elderly mother met up with her two sons, Fahir and Amaad, who she pointed out the man to, it is said
- The pair are then said to have confronted him – which turned into a physical altercation
- Greater Manchester Police were then called to the airport where they are understood to have met Fahir, Amaad and their mum by ticket machines
- Police say three officers were attacked, including a female PC who suffered a broken nose, when they were “punched to the ground”
- Fahir is then thought to have been put on the floor where he was kicked and stamped on
- Footage also reportedly shows the same cop use PAVA spray (similar to pepper spray)
- Fahir and his brother are then hauled away
The family source also alleged that the mum was struck in the face by an officer – but this has not been independently verified.