Second police officer investigated over British airport assault

Officers investigated for misconduct for alleged breaches of police professional standards

LONDON:

A second police officer is being investigated for assault over an incident last month at Manchester Airport, authorities said Thursday.

In a statement, the Independent Office for Police Conduct’s (IOPC) said a second Greater Manchester Police officer has been advised that they are under criminal investigation for assault relating to an incident in which two other men were arrested.

Last month, a video circulated on social media showing a police officer in Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport kicking and stomping on the head of a man who was lying face down on the floor, triggering widespread allegations of racism and increasing scrutiny of police conduct in the UK.

Later, IOPC Regional Director Catherine Bates said the IOPC is arranging to interview a police constable "under criminal caution as soon as possible."

Additional video footage was later leaked showing events prior to the incident where three police officers were assaulted and left with head injuries, including one officer with a broken nose, at the terminal's car park pay point area, according to Greater Manchester Police (GMP).

"They are also being investigated for potential gross misconduct for alleged breaches of police professional standards, including their use of force," the IOPC noted.

"The serving of notices does not necessarily mean criminal charges or misconduct proceedings will follow," it added, saying the IOPC will decide at the end of its investigation whether to refer the matter to the Crown Prosecution Service for a charging decision and decide whether the officers should face disciplinary proceedings.

Speaking Tuesday at a news conference in Manchester along with Fahir Amaaz, 19, who was kicked in the head at the airport, his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 25, and their mother, lawyer Aamer Anwar said the family members were left devastated and traumatized by the incident, adding "there has been a deliberate attempt to smear the family."

During the press conference, he also explained what happened on the plane before it landed at Manchester Airport, which paved the way for the ensuing incidents.

Anwar claimed that Fahir and Muhammad's mother were racially abused onboard the plane, which left her "extremely unwell" and that she tried to move away from the man who she said was intimidating her.

When she left the plane, she was upset and collected the wrong luggage, which she only recognized when she got home.

Anwar said the mother met with her sons, who had come to pick her up along with her 6-year-old grandson, and told them what had happened on the plane.

Allegedly, her sons spotted the man she said had racially abused her and they spoke to him before leaving toward the car park, where the altercation with police began.

The family was shocked by the level of violence by the police, said Anwar, adding the 56-year-old mother was shouting in Urdu that "they have killed my son" after she saw her son tasered.

According to police reports, three officers were assaulted during the altercation, including a female constable who sustained a broken nose. Four men were subsequently arrested in connection with the incident