'Shocking' police attack in Manchester Airport sparks 'racism, Islamophobia' accusations

Greater Manchester’s Muslim and South Asian community have expressed anger after a video showing a police officer kicking and stamping on the head of man at Manchester Airport surfaced online late on Wednesday.

Local residents from the town of Rochdale, 16 kilometres northeast of Manchester where the assaulted man is from, gathered in their hundreds outside the town’s police station to protest the attack.

Protesters chanted "shame on you, GMP", in reference to Greater Manchester Police and demanded justice, calling for the the police officers involved in the incident to be sacked.

The distressing footage showed a male police officer pointing his Taser at the man, violently kicking him and stamping on his head, as he laid face down with his arms to his sides on the floor. The police officer went on to knee him on the side.

A woman, presumably related to the man, can be seen also laying on the ground, pleading with officers to stop attacking him.

Witnesses who filmed the incident can be heard shouting "move back, move back" and "stop kicking people". A female police officer then points a Taser to the crowd.

The same male police officer then turns towards another man sat on a bench, and can be heard screaming "get down" at him. The officer then points his Taser at him. The man proceeds to kneel on the floor with his hands behind his head, while the officer stamps on his left leg and hits him around the back of the head with his Taser.

Community leaders spoke outside the police station, and made comparisons to the death of Mark Duggan, a Black-British man killed by police in 2011, which triggered the London and England-wide riots.

"What is going on, is that the police is institutionally racist. Let’s make that clear, the police is a racist organisation," one protester said outside Rochdale police station. 

'Disproportionate force'

The UK based NGO Muslim Engagement and Development (MEND), told The New Arab that they are urging Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham to "give a public speech" and to "highlight that the use of such disproportionate force against an unarmed incapacitated man was unacceptable, regardless of what events may have transpired beforehand".

The Muslim Council of Britain (MCB) also told TNA: "It has been disturbing to watch the extensive footage showing the alarming force used by police on passengers at Manchester Airport."

"The repeated kicks to the head followed by aggression to the passenger who lay on the floor, the mother trying to protect her son, visibly distressed and crying, has been heartbreaking".

The MP for Rochdale, Labour’s Paul Waugh, called the incident at Manchester Airport "shocking and disturbing", and released a statement which read: "Like many who have seen the clip, I am extremely concerned. I have had it confirmed that the man arrested is a Rochdale resident and I have talked to his family this evening. I plan to meet them in person tomorrow".

Waugh said he expressed his concern directly to the Assistant Chief Constable, and added that he was in touch with the Deputy Mayor for policing of Greater Manchester, Kate Green.

He also added that it was "right for the police officer concerned to be removed from duty" and that the incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Following the incident, Greater Manchester Police released a statement acknowledging what had happened. The statement read: "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."

Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Choudhry confirmed that a police officer has been suspended from all operational duties, and that the GMP is making a voluntary referral of the its policy response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct.

Choudhry said of the lead-up to the incident: "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."

In a statement to TNA, GMP said: "We understand the deep concerns that have been widely raised with us, and will continue to meet and discuss these feelings with Greater Manchester residents and elected representatives, whilst this independent investigation takes place."

Accusations of racism

Dal Babu, a former Police Chief with the Met, told BBC Radio 4 Today on Thursday that "racism played a significant part" in the incident.

"Here we have a unit of white officers in specialist departments and you have a group of Asian people, and the force used them against has been totally excessive."

Babu also criticised the GMP’s "cynical attempt" at having a South Asian police officer release a statement on the incident. "It’s not the chief constable, it’s not Steve Watson, it’s Asian officers. You can count on one hand the number of senior Asian officers in Greater Manchester police," he said.

The former police chief also criticised GMP for their "slow" response to the incident, and described the incident as "very serious" at a time when "trust in the police is so low".

Burnham told BBC Radio Manchester that he could assure the people of Greater Manchester that "the right steps have been taken" to deal with the incident.

The mayor said he will talk to the IOPC to "ensure the highest level of independence for this investigation and, secondly, that there will be input from community stakeholders".

MEND, however, has urged Burnham to "conduct an independent investigation, aside from the one with the IOPC, and keep Muslim organisations informed throughout the process".

Muslim activists online have raised questions over the role Islamophobia and racism within the UK police force played in the incident.

"I was keeping an open mind but having seen more evidence and the context, it’s obvious the police acted brutally - there was no way they would have hit an old white woman in the face. This is racism and islamophobia 101," journalist Sharmeen Z said on X.