Hundreds of protesters have gathered outside a Rochdale police station overnight after video emerged showing a man being kicked in the head by an officer while being arrested at Manchester Airport.
Demonstrators massed outside the station where the man and three other males were taken in handcuffs after their chaotic arrests on Tuesday evening at the airport, with the crowd shouting ‘GMP shame on you’.
Former MP George Galloway claimed last night that the kicked man’s brother was actually a serving police officer himself, although this could not be verified.
Video of the men being taken into custody went viral after one of the men being detained was kicked in the face and stamped on the head by a police officer, while others were wrestled to the ground, Tasered and had incapacitant spray used on them.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) says the men were arrested after officers attended reports of an assault at Terminal 2 in the airport on Tuesday night and that during the response multiple officers were assaulted, including one female PC who had her nose broken.
The force has referred itself to the independent police watchdog over the incident and one officer has been taken off active duty, but has not been suspended, after the footage was released on social media on Wednesday afternoon.
The man being kicked in the video is believed to be from Rochdale and late last night hundreds of people gathered outside the town’s main police station to protest the treatment of those who were arrested.
During the demonstration speakers labelled the police ‘institutionally racist’ and the lead crowd in chants of ‘GMP, shame on you’, with cries of ‘Allahu Akbar [God is greatest]’ and ‘f*** the police’ also heard.
One man holding a megaphone was hear telling listeners to remain peaceful at the protest, before adding ‘but tomorrow if we don’t get justice, these motherf*****s are gonna get it’.
A local Imam was seen trying to calm tensions within the crowd, telling them: ‘Rioting, being upset, is what these brothers want you to do. All I am asking is for you not to take the law into your own hands, be respectable citizens like our parents have taught us.’
Paul Waugh, the town’s newly elected Labour MP, said on social media site X that he had spoken to the family involved and would meet them in person tomorrow.
He wrote: ‘The video footage of a Greater Manchester police officer kicking and stamping on a man in Manchester Airport is truly shocking and disturbing.
‘Like many who have seen this clip, I am extremely concerned. I have had it confirmed that the man arrested is a Rochdale resident and I hope to meet the family as soon as possible.
‘I have expressed my concerns directly to the Assistant Chief Constable this evening and have been in touch with Kate Green, Deputy Mayor for policing of Greater Manchester.
‘It’s right that the police officer concerned has been removed from duties and that this incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I expect a thorough and swift investigation.’
George Galloway, the former MP for Rochdale, claimed on X that one of the men who was arrested had family members in the police.
He said: ‘I spoke at some length to both the uncle and the brother of those who were savagely assaulted on the videos that you’ve seen. Both the uncle and the brother are serving police officers.
‘This is important. This is a police family that was severely beaten by the police, stamping on their faces while they lay helpless and unresisting on the floor, kicking them in the head with police boots while they lay unresistant, helpless on the floor.’
The angry crowd gathered after video showing the arrests of four men at Manchester Airport on Tuesday night was shared online yesterday afternoon.
GMP said the men were detained on suspicion of a number of offences, including assault, assault of an emergency worker, affray and obstructing police.
In video a man wearing blue shorts and a blue top is seen lying on the floor with his hands behind his back while an older woman kneels next to him. Behind the pair a man wearing a grey top and shorts sits on a chair with his hands above his head.
A male police officer who is holding a Taser then kicks the man who is on the floor in the face, before appearing to stamp on the back of his head as he turns away from the officer.
This sparks outrage from people watching the scene who can be heard shouting at the police ‘stop kicking people’ and ‘you’re on camera’. A female police officer can be seen pushed people who are filming away from the man.
In the background an officer can be seen shouting ‘get down, get down’ at the man sat in the chair. The man is then pushed to the ground by two officers and placed in handcuffs.
At this point the woman, who can be seen wearing a blue dupatta headscarf can be seen wandering confusedly between the two men, who are believed to be her sons. She is then pushed away by a female officer.
Other footage which appears to have been taken after the two men were taken away by officers appears to show police cornering a group of people in the same concourse.
In the video one officer who has his Taser out is seen pointing at a man and saying: ‘You’re going to get locked up.’
At this point one of the officers fires his incapacitant spay at one of the men, before he and another policeman grab hold of the man and wrestle him to the floor.
The men are then dragged away out of the building by officers towards a waiting police vehicle.
Amar Rafiq, who filmed some of the original video, was returning to Manchester from Qatar when he saw the incident unfold in front of him.
He told : ‘I walked out to the concourse where the incident was taking place. The officer had the man put up against the wall, he was trying to push and shove the officer.
‘Moments later the other guy that had been there punched the officer, then they took both of them to the ground. They [police] were saying ‘you’re under arrest’.’
He said that was when he started filming, capturing the moment one of the men appeared to be kicked in the head.
Mr Rafiq said: ‘I was just gobsmacked. The police [officer] just kicked the guy in the face.
‘Everyone was worried about themselves, they started panicking and rushing away, they feared they would be attacked.’
He added he did not see what happened to the men or the woman accompanying them because officers sent everyone away from the scene.
Mr Rafiq said at least ten officers were present at the time.
A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said they were called to reports of an altercation between members of the public.
In a statement issued this evening, Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said the force understood why the video of the arrests ‘created alarm’.
He said: ‘We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about. The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.
‘In advance of what is shown in the footage available, we were called to reports of an assault at Terminal 2, Manchester Airport at 8.25pm on Tuesday 23 July.
‘The alleged suspect was seen on CCTV at a ticket machine in the car park and officers attended the location to arrest him.
‘During our response, three officers were assaulted. One female officer suffered a broken nose and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries which required hospital treatment.
‘One male officer has been removed from operational duties and we are making a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.’
The force also clarified that the officer in question had not been suspended by Greater Manchester Police.
It added: ‘Two men have been arrested on suspicion of assault, assault of emergency worker, affray, and obstructing police.
‘Two other men have also been arrested on suspicion of affray and assault of an emergency worker.’
In an earlier statement Greater Manchester Police had said there was a ‘clear risk’ that officers’ firearms might be taken from them.
The spokesperson added there was a ‘clear risk’ officers’ firearms might be taken from them.
A statement read: ‘Officers were called to reports of an altercation between members of the public in Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport.
‘Whilst attempting to arrest one of the suspects of the earlier altercation, three officers were subject to a violent assault, where they were punched to the ground. A female officer suffered a broken nose and all three were taken to hospital for treatment.
‘As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them.
‘Four men were arrested at the scene for affray and assault on emergency service workers.
‘We acknowledge the concerns of the conduct within the video, and our Professional Standards Directorate are assessing this.’
But the force has already faced fierce criticism online over the clip, with former Chief Prosecutor for the northwest Nazir Afzal saying: ‘Obviously don’t have the whole picture but I see no justification for the kick in the head, followed by a stamp and a Taser on a prone, unarmed man with his hands by his side.’
Manchester Airport declined to comment.