What Happened at Manchester Airport

A video is stirring up the internet as a police officer is seen kicking a man who goes by the name – Mohamed Fahir on his head at the Manchester airport. The video footage has sparked a lot of angry reactions from locals, politicians and the man’s family due to the allegations of police brutality. The said officer has been suspended from duty. 

However, there is an ongoing protest in Manchester against racial police and this video has successfully triggered many more protesters to stand up against racial discrimination from police force, chanting the slogan “No Justice, No Peace”.  The family of the injured man claimed that Mohammed has a cyst in his brain, the lawyer of this family added that this action has traumatised his relatives with his worsen condition. The family lawyer made another statement in the footage that Mohammed had an older brother who is a serving police officer with the GMP, saying the man is now afraid to go to work as he fear for his own safety and he is thinking that his family is already a victim to this sad incident, he could also be a victim as well. 

The accused police officer also claimed that three of his colleagues had been badly injured and assaulted at the airport on Tuesday.

I am as disgusted with this video as I am with the video from Manchester Airport. But why did this not get the same media attention. Makes you wonder pic.twitter.com/P8nCqBtnlK

— Brian pearson (@Briscout1959) July 25, 2024

The Police Officer also made it clear that this violent action had happened because the officers tried to arrest someone at the airport Terminal 2. Onlookers claimed that the police officer used pepper spray and a taser before wrestling him to the ground. 

Demonstrators chanted “shame on you” as police arrived at the protest in the city centre on Thursday evening, few hours after the family’s lawyer Akhmed Yakoob gave a press conference about the footage of a young man being kicked in the head and stamped on by an officer while he lay restrained on the floor of Manchester Airport. The video, widely shared on social media on Wednesday afternoon, quickly racked up thousands of views. 

The independent police watchdog is already conducting an investigation after receiving two referrals from the incident and has also met with one of the  victims family. 

Home secretary – Yvette Cooper has also met with Andy Burnham to discuss the immediate actions to be taken in response to the incident at the Manchester airport on Tuesday evening.