Disturbing videos showing a British police officer kicking and stomping on a man's head at Manchester Airport on Tuesday night have sparked outrage on social media. In one of the clips, the uniformed male officer is seen holding a Taser over the man, who is lying face down, before striking him twice while other officers shout at onlookers to stay back. The officer is also seen stomping his boots on the back of the man's head and slamming his knee into his back before sitting on top of him. Later in the same video, another man, whose hands were in the air while sitting nearby, is also taken to the ground after a police officer points a taser at him. Both men appeared to be handcuffed and taken into custody.
The second video shows another man being confronted, pepper-sprayed in the face and brought to the ground by a police officer who wrapped his arm around the man's neck as he wrestled him down. The clips appear to show the attacks taking place on the ground level of the airport outside of several elevators.
In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Greater Manchester Police (GMP) confirmed the incident, which took place in the airport's Terminal 2 on Tuesday. The cops said that footage on social media showed a confrontation that began after three officers were injured in a "violent assault", including one female officer who suffered a broken nose. However, they also added that the event seen in the videos was "truly shocking" and an "unusual occurrence". A male officer has been "removed from operational duties," the police said.
"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," said Assistant Chief Constable Chaudhry.
"The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm. One male officer has been removed from operational duties and we are making a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC)," Mr Chaudhry added.
The IOPC said it would assess GMP's referral "and decide what further action is required".
In its post, the Greater Manchester Police also outlined what it said were the events that led up to the videos. Cops said that they were called to Terminal 2 of the airport on Tuesday evening following reports of an assault. When they confronted the male suspect, three officers were injured in a "violent assault, where they were punched to the ground," with one female officer ending up with a broken nose, the force said.
Four men have been arrested for assaulting an emergency worker, the statement added.
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Meanwhile, on social media, the incident has sparked an outcry over whether violence used by police was proportionate or justified. According to the BBC, protesters gathered outside the force's divisional headquarters in the town of Rochdale on Wednesday. Many British politicians also condemned the incident and called the videos "disturbing".
Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, called the videos "disturbing" in a post on X. UK Home Office Minister Diana Johnson said on X that she was "aware of the disturbing footage" and "understand(s) the public concern it has prompted. I have asked for a full update from Greater Manchester Police."
