Public Outcry as Video Shows Police Kicking Muslim Man’s Head at Manchester Airport

Greater Manchester Police confirmed that the attack took place at Manchester Airport on Tuesday.

In a widely shared video, armed police can be seen pointing Tasers at a man lying on the ground before one officer kicks and stamps on the man's head.

An older woman attempts to protect the man, who remains on the ground, as none of the other officers intervene or reprimand the officer.

Instead, the other officers point their Tasers at a crowd of outraged onlookers shouting at them to stop.

Another man, with his hands on his head, is then kicked and punched by the same police officer as he appears to follow instructions to get on the ground.

The two men attacked are Muslims of South Asian descent.

In a statement released on Wednesday, Greater Manchester Police said the incident occurred after three officers were assaulted during an arrest.

“One female officer suffered a broken nose, and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries requiring hospital treatment,” said Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry.

The statement acknowledged that the event was “truly shocking” and “unusual,” but did not reprimand the officer for his conduct.

Initially, Greater Manchester Police said on Wednesday that a police officer had been “removed from operational duties.”

On Thursday, they confirmed that the officer had been suspended “following a thorough review of further information that has become available.”

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said on Thursday that he believed there had been an incident on a flight involving the mother of the two individuals attacked by the police officer, who were waiting at the airport for her.

“[The mother] pointed somebody out, and there was an altercation in the arrivals hall,” Burnham said, explaining that the men were followed on camera before the attack occurred.

One eyewitness, Amir Minhas, told the BBC that a man in his 20s was approached by police and told he was wanted before being pinned against a wall.

Another man then began throwing punches before being tasered and falling to the floor.

“That’s when the policeman kicked him,” Minhas said.

The incident has been met with disbelief from many quarters, with the United Kingdom’s minister in charge of policing, Diana Johnson, requesting a “full update from Greater Manchester Police.”

Others have used stronger language. British trade unionist Howard Beckett described the attack as “the most brutal of police assaults on two men.”

“Not in Tel Aviv. In Manchester Airport,” he wrote on social media, adding that it was “thuggery in uniforms.”

Claudia Webbe, a former member of Parliament, described the attack as “a gang of serving police officers engaged in brutal violence.”

“They call this policing by consent, building trust and confidence,” she added. “The victims are Muslim. Our silence guarantees police impunity. We cannot be silent or silenced.”

Former chief superintendent of the Metropolitan Police, Dal Babu, said he believed racism played a part in the incident.

On Wednesday night, locals gathered outside a police station in Rochdale, where local MP Paul Waugh confirmed at least one of the men lived, chanting “GMP [Greater Manchester Police], shame on you.”

Demonstrators have also planned a protest against the attack on Thursday outside the office of Mayor Burnham, denouncing the police as “racist.”