Lawyer for family in Manchester airport police incident wants access to all police footage

The lawyer for the family at the center of an incident involving police at Manchester Airport has called on authorities to give access to all police footage.

Aamer Anwar, 56, will take over from “TikTok lawyer” Akhmed Yakoob following his resignation. “I am being instructed on behalf of Fahir Amaaz, Muhammad Amaad, their mother and their family in relation to the incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday 23 July 2024,” Mr Anwar confirmed.

Mr Anwar said he had spoken to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) about making a complaint. He also called for “all CCTV and police footage to be preserved”. The lawyer, who was born in Manchester to Pakistani parents, claimed that the mother of the men who were arrested was subjected to racist abuse before they were detained.

A Greater Manchester Police officer has been told he is being investigated for assault over the incident, the IOPC said on Friday. The officer was also given a disciplinary notice to inform him that he is being investigated for potential serious misconduct for a number of alleged breaches of police professional standards, including the use of force, an IOPC spokesman said.

“If certain police officers are behaving like this in an area full of CCTV and in the presence of so many witnesses, then it really begs the question why they are capable when there is no such evidence,” Anwar said. “Highly trained police officers can never use provocation or emotion to justify the use of excessive, illegitimate and potentially lethal force.”

In the incident, a man was kicked in the head by an officer while being restrained on the floor. Protests broke out in Rochdale and Manchester city center after the video circulated online, before the family of the man who was allegedly punched and stamped on appealed for calm.

The Labor mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, said people should not “rush to judgement” over the incident as other footage emerged. “Following the incidents leading up to the shooting that people have seen this week, four people have been arrested and are now on bail,” Mr Burnham said.

He added that it was “frustrating” that other videos were not released to the public because “this is a live investigation.” The ages of the men arrested and released on bail are 19, 25, 28 and 31.

Mr Burnham continued: “People must now step back and allow the IOPC’s criminal investigation into the officer’s conduct to progress, alongside the parallel GMP investigation into other potential offences, so that the full picture can be presented.”

Mr Anwar continued: “There can be no excuse for any record to inadvertently disappear. If certain police officers are behaving like this in an area full of CCTV and in the presence of so many witnesses, then it really begs the question of what they are capable of when there is no such evidence.

“Highly trained police officers can never use provocation or emotion to justify the use of excessive, illegitimate and potentially lethal force. I would also urge any members of the public who witnessed the incident or were subjected to police violence to come forward and contact the IOPC or my office.

“The family, a number of whom are serving police officers, wish to make clear that if any member of their family has been involved in criminal conduct then they must face a fair trial. the narrative or context is profoundly unnecessary to an IOPC investigation.

“We expect GMP to arrest a member of the public who is accused of subjecting the 60-year-old mother-of-two to a tirade of racist abuse and assault – this is what sparked the incident – police , of course, has its details and must act immediately. In the coming days, once formal legal proceedings and our investigations are complete, the family will issue a full statement at a press conference.”

Greater Manchester Police have opened a public portal for more footage and are appealing for witnesses to three incidents. The first is “an altercation between passengers” on Qatar Airways flight QR023 which arrived at 19:20, which they said may have taken place in the flight hall or the T2 baggage hall. A “violent altercation involving members of the public” then took place in T2 at around 8.22pm, GMP said. At 20:28, three police officers were assaulted and left with head injuries, including a broken nose, in the payment point area of ​​the terminal car park, the force added.