Manchester airport video shows lead-up to police kick incident

A video has been released that shows a police officer kicking and stamping on a man’s head at Manchester Airport.

Officers can be seen attempting to detain one man before a second man intervenes.

Footage seen by the Manchester Evening News showed a scuffle breaking out and two officers being knocked to the ground.

The officer who was subsequently filmed stamping on the man’s head has faced disciplinary action and is facing an assault investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Following the release of the new video, Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham reiterated his previous statement that this is a “complex situation with two sides”.

He said he hoped the release of more footage would give people a “fuller picture”, adding that he was concerned about people jumping to conclusions and speculating online.

The new footage shows a man dressed in grey clothing struggling with a male officer, exchanging punches.

Another man, dressed in blue clothing, punched two other officers, one male and one female, knocking them down.

The officer who was struggling with the first man ran away and used a Taser on him.

While he was aiming the stun device, a man in blue came running up and punched him.

Another male officer then fired a Taser at the officer, who fell to the ground while still grabbing the first male officer.

An elderly woman, who is seen falling at the beginning of the video, crawls over to a man dressed in blue who is lying face down on the floor.

The first officer had already risen to his feet and appeared to point a Taser at the officer and kick him in the head.

The new footage ends there, but video released last week shows the officer stomping on the man’s head as he lies face-down on the floor.

BBC Verify analysis of five social media videos of the incident suggests the violence did not end there.

Another video shows the officer stomping on the man’s head, then approaching a man in a grey uniform, stomping on his thighs and hitting him in the back of the head with a Taser.

Another officer appears to fire pepper spray at a passerby who was filming the incident.

The latest videos are not included in the scope of Verify.

A protest took place outside Rochdale police station on Thursday, with demonstrators accusing Greater Manchester Police (GMP) of systemic racism.

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh, who spoke to the family after the incident, said the family of the man who was trampled appealed for “calmness in all areas”.

He told BBC Breakfast that the family was “painfully aware” that there were “extremists on all sides trying to hijack this case for their own ends”.

He said the “strong message” the family wanted to send was that they “have no political agenda.”

GMP said there was a “clear risk” that firearms officers would have their weapons confiscated, and three officers were taken to hospital, including a female officer with a broken nose.

Four men aged 19, 25, 28 and 31 were arrested following the incident on suspicion of disorder and assault and later released on bail.

Police said they understood the “deep concerns” that had been “widely raised” about the footage.

Mr Burnham told BBC Breakfast on Sunday: “The risk, of course, is that there will be consequences and a great deal of uproar from these sentences.”

“It has an impact on the local community and can have an impact on public order.”

The mayor said he understood the frustration that police could not release more video because it was evidence in an ongoing investigation.

“The public must now step forward and await the progress of the IOPC’s criminal investigation into officers’ conduct, and the parallel investigation by GMP into other potential offences, so that the full picture can emerge,” Mr Burnham added.

Human rights lawyer Ammar Anwar told BBC Newsnight he was disappointed that leading politicians, including Ms Burnham, had called on the public to consider the context of the case.

He said there was “no justification” for officers to act in this way, adding that the circumstances were “irrelevant.”