AIRPORT KICK VIDEO FAMILY CALLS FOR END TO PROTESTS

The family of a man who was kicked and stamped on during an arrest at Manchester Airport have asked for "no further protests", their local MP has said.

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh said they had asked "for calm", and for "due process" to be allowed to take place.

Footage of a confrontation at Terminal 2 sparked protests when it began to circulate on Wednesday.

Greater Manchester Police (GMP) chief constable Stephen Watson said he regretted the upset the footage had caused.

Mr Waugh posted on X a statement headed "Rochdale Family plea to communities", which said: "The family of the Manchester Airport incident has issued an appeal for calm and healing, requesting that the people refrain from attending the planned Manchester Airport demonstration this weekend.

"We would also not like anyone to be inconvenienced as a result."

The statement added that the family "appreciated the support given" but "urged everyone to respect their wishes during this difficult time".

Mr Waugh said a meeting held in Rochdale on Friday had "made clear that this is a community that strongly believes in the rule of law, that the criminal justice system should follow the evidence wherever it leads, and that offenders should be punished appropriately".

He added: "Those present also rightly stressed that the law should be applied equally to everyone - and that no one, particularly the police, should be above the law."

'Shock and upset'

The footage showed a firearms officer striking a man twice as he lay prone on the floor.

A police officer is now facing a criminal investigation and has been suspended from duties following the incident.

Protesters in both Rochdale and Manchester have claimed officers had used disproportionate force.

GMP said three officers were assaulted while they were trying to arrest a man following "reports of an altercation between members of the public in Terminal 2".

They said the officers were "punched to the ground", including a female officer, who suffered a broken nose.

All three needed hospital treatment, the force said.

"As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them," a GMP representative said.

Four men, aged between 19 and 31, were arrested on suspicion of assault and affray and have since been bailed.

Speaking on Thursday, solicitor Akhmed Yakoob said Muhammad Fahir Amaaz was the man who had been kicked, and that his condition worsened a day after the attack.

He said a a scan revealed "a cyst on his brain".

Mr Yakoob said he was representing both Mr Amaaz and his brother Amaad, who was also involved in the incident.

He added their wider family, who are from Rochdale, included a serving GMP officer, had been left "traumatised".

In a statement on Friday, Chief Constable Stephen Watson said it was "a source of profound regret that this week’s incident at Manchester Airport has caused shock and upset in some of our communities".

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2024-07-27T11:47:58Z dg43tfdfdgfd