A police officer filmed kicking a teenager in the head won widespread support yesterday after video emerged of the shocking attack on his colleagues moments earlier.
A former police and crime commissioner said it was now clear he had been “quite frankly the hero” of the situation, while a former armed response sergeant said his suspension should now be lifted.
And an acting chief inspector said the three weapons officers had been “very calm” about “leaving their pistols in their holsters”.
There were calls for the attackers to be prosecuted after horrific CCTV footage showed how moments before he was kicked, 19-year-old Fahir Muhammad Amas had left one policewoman with a broken nose and a second crumpled to the ground.
Last week’s violent arrest at Manchester Airport, captured on bystanders’ mobile phones, sparked angry protests and accusations of racism and “police brutality”.
Yesterday, Surrey’s former police and crime commissioner Kevin Hurley made clear that the officer, who was punched and wrestled to the ground and held in a chokehold, had been “quite frankly the hero” of the situation.
“That guy saved the day and, frankly, he saved his colleagues,” he told LBC radio.
“Sometimes you have to do unpleasant things to people.”
Sharing the video on X (formerly Twitter), Detective Chief Inspector Melanie Simmons, Devon and Cornwall Police’s chief custodial officer, expressed her “genuine disgust at seeing the appalling and prolonged violent attacks suffered by a number of officers”.
He added that since the incident took place in a “high security location”, the firearms officers were “very calm in these circumstances, given that they only pulled out Tasers and left their guns in their holsters”.
Former armed response officer Harry Tangye accused Home Secretary Yvette Cooper, Rochdale MP Paul Waugh and Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Stephen Watson of “abiding by mob rule” by backing the investigation into the police officer seen kicking the teenager.
This is the moment in the original footage that sparked controversy after a police officer was seen kicking the young man on the ground in the head, but new footage has now shown what happened in the moments leading up to this.
New footage shows the moments before a Greater Manchester Police officer was filmed kicking a teenager in the head at Manchester Airport.
New footage shows Fahir apparently punching a female police officer in the head.
As the first officer points his Taser at Amaad, Fahir grabs him from behind and chokes him.
One female police officer can be seen collapsed on the ground, while the other is being beaten by Fahir.
Police officers try to control the men after the scene descended into chaos.
Accusing them of showing “no leadership or moral courage,” he posted: “I would argue that it is NOT in the public interest to prosecute these officers.
“Show some courage for once and reinstate the officer.”
Former Scotland Yard detective Peter Bleksley said the “appalling” video showed a “sickening level of violence being used against police officers”.
He told GB News it was now clear that in addition to the investigation into the officer, there should be a “criminal investigation into a disgusting, sickening and appalling level of violence”.
The CCTV clip, obtained by the Manchester Evening News, shows the officer grabbing Fahir at a parking pay station, apparently over an earlier confrontation with a passenger.
His brother Amaad, 25, then launched a series of punches, leaving the officer collapsed on the ground.
Fahir, dressed in light blue shorts, then punches a female officer, fracturing her nose, before slamming a second female officer to the ground.
As the first officer points his Taser at Amaad, Fahir grabs him from behind in a chokehold, only to be tasered himself by the wounded policewoman.
Both brothers were arrested on suspicion of affray and assaulting an emergency worker before being released on bail.
Responding to yesterday’s footage, the brothers’ controversial Lamborghini-driving lawyer continued to insist the officer was wrong to kick Fahir in the head after the teenager collapsed to the ground.
Akhmed Yakoob, known as TikTok’s lawyer, said: “After reviewing CCTV footage from Manchester Airport, nothing can justify kicking a defenceless man in the head and stamping on his head. Those are my views.”
“These officers are highly trained, they should not lose control or see any red.”
Calling for calm again, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said yesterday that the latest video showed there were “two sides” to this “tricky situation”.
“If the whole picture had been presented immediately, people would have been able to form a more complete judgement,” he told BBC Breakfast.
‘In the age of social media we live in, people end up taking sides, but life is more complicated and the truth often lies in the middle.’
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) has appealed for witnesses to the attack, as well as two previous incidents believed to involve the same family.
Sources have described how the brothers’ 56-year-old mother, whom they were greeting on their flight from Pakistan, told them about an incident on the flight which led to them confronting another passenger in the terminal building.
The first incident is an “altercation between passengers” on Qatar Airways flight QR023 which arrived at 7.20pm on Tuesday, which police say may have taken place in the flight lounge or baggage claim area.
Then, at around 8:22 p.m., there was a “violent altercation involving members of the public” near Starbucks in Terminal 2.
Finally, after the brothers were tracked through CCTV, at 8:28 pm in the parking pay point area, three police officers were assaulted and left with head injuries.
Last Wednesday, a large crowd protested outside the family’s local police station in Rochdale, with demonstrators chanting: “Shame on GMP!”
The following day, a second protest blocked roads and tram lines outside Burnham’s office in central Manchester.
On Friday, the brothers’ family issued an “appeal for calm” through their MP, Mr Waugh, and urged people not to take part in any further protests.
The officer who was filmed kicking Fahir has been suspended and placed under criminal investigation for assault by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.