Armed police officer filmed kicking man lying on ground at Manchester airport; shocked spectators threatened with Tasers.
An armed British police officer was filmed kicking a man in the head as he lay on the ground, in an incident that has been reported as an example of police brutality.
Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the attack on the man took place at Manchester Airport on Tuesday.
In a video widely shared online, armed police can be seen pointing Tasers at a man lying on the ground, before an officer begins kicking and then hitting the man in the head.
An older woman tries to protect the man, who remains on the ground, as none of the other officers try to help the man or reprimand the officer.
Instead, the other officers point their Tasers at a crowd of outraged onlookers, shouting for them to stop. Another man with his hands on his head is then kicked and punched by the same police officer who appears to follow instructions to also fall to the ground.
The most brutal police attack on two men. Not in Tel Aviv. At Manchester Airport
They are electrocuted. Kicked in the head. Printed on the head. Hit you in the head with a stun gun and then a knee drops into your kidneys
This is banditry in uniformspic.twitter.com/srZO8zEWzs
-Howard Beckett (@BeckettUnite) July 24, 2024
In a statement on Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police said the incident occurred after three officers were assaulted during an arrest.
“One officer suffered a broken nose and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries that required hospital treatment,” said a statement from deputy police chief Wasim Chaudhry.
The statement said that a police officer had been “removed from operational duties” and that the force was “voluntarily referring our police response to the Independent Office for Police Conduct”.
He acknowledged that the event was “truly shocking” and an “unusual occurrence that we understand creates alarm”, but did not reprimand the officer for his conduct.
Eyewitness Amir Minhas told the BBC that a man in his 20s was approached by police and told he was wanted, before being pinned against a wall. Another man began throwing punches before being electrocuted and falling to the ground. “That’s when the police officer kicked him,” Minhas said.
‘Not Tel Aviv’
The incident was met with disbelief in many quarters, with the UK minister responsible for policing, Diana Johnson, calling for a “full update from Greater Manchester Police”.
Others used stronger language. British trade unionist Howard Beckett described the attack as “the most brutal police attack on two men”.
“Not in Tel Aviv. At Manchester airport,” he wrote on social media, before adding that it was “uniformed violence.”
Claudia Webbe, a former MP, described the attack as “a gang of on-duty police officers engaged in brutal violence”.
“They call it policing by consent, building trust and safety,” she added. “The victims are Muslims. Our silence guarantees police impunity. We cannot remain silent or silenced.”
However, a former chief prosecutor, Nasir Afzal, said he saw “no justification for the kick to the head” and the rest of the attack, and local MP Afzal Khan described the incident as one in which the police “appeared to use excessive force against an unarmed civilian.”
Protesters planned a protest against the attack on Thursday outside the office of Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham, denouncing the police as “racist” for the attack.
Burnham has yet to comment on the incident.
This story originally appeared on Aljazeera.com read the full story
