What we know about Manchester Airport video footage

Police investigating the Manchester Airport incident in which a man was filmed being kicked in the head by a police officer have passed a “comprehensive” file to the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS).

In footage widely shared on social media, an officer was seen appearing to kick and stamp on the head of Fahir Amaaz, 19, as he and his brother Muhammad Amaad, 25, both from Rochdale, were restrained by officers. Officers were criticised and an investigation into the incident was started.

However, more footage emerged days later which showed the immediate lead-up to the incident on 23 July, including when two female police officers were hit to the ground before Amaaz was incapacitated with a taser.

On Thursday, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said: “We have submitted a comprehensive file of evidence to the Crown Prosecution Service for advice as part of an investigation into a series of alleged criminal offences which saw three police officers injured at Manchester Airport in July.

“GMP major incident team investigators, led by a highly experienced senior investigating officer, have been thoroughly investigating the incident.”

The original video had prompted a backlash against GMP after it went viral on social media, sparking protests taking place in Manchester and Rochdale, where the man injured in the video comes from.

An investigation has been launched by police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Complaints (IOPC) and one officer has been suspended pending the investigation.

The officer facing a criminal investigation was also served with a disciplinary notice to inform him he was being investigated for potential gross misconduct for a number of alleged breaches of police professional standards, including his use of force, an IOPC spokesman said.

What we know

Footage began circulating on social media on 24 July of a police officer, with a taser in his hand, appearing to kick and then stamp on or near the head of a man who can be seen lying face down on the floor, with a woman kneeling beside him. A second man also appears to be struck by the officer.

The footage is said to have been filmed at the airport’s terminal two a day earlier.

The footage sparked a backlash, with protests taking place in Rochdale and also in Manchester city centre.

There had been speculation on what had prompted the violence between police and the men involved, with Greater Manchester mayor Burnham telling the BBC that there had been an "issue" with an incoming flight.

He said two individuals were waiting for their mother who said that there’d been an issue on the flight and she pointed somebody out and then there was an altercation in the arrivals hall. And then that individual who was involved in that – or a couple – were followed by cameras through the airport, and then we get to the scene that people have seen, which is in a car park area.

“So there had been already a serious incident before that. What people don’t see in the clip is that there is a situation which escalates and escalates very quickly."

Extra footage then emerged over the weekend that appeared to suggest that there had been a violent altercation immediately before the original clip.

The video appears to show three police officers approaching a young man as he uses a ticket machine inside a carpark at the airport. They try to restrain him but a fight breaks out, with two female officers both receiving blows.

What has the reaction been?

The police

After the original footage emerged, GMP acknowledged concerns about “conduct within the video”.

It said firearms officers had been responding to reports of an altercation between members of the public, and a spokesman added: “As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them.”

The force said four men were arrested at the scene for affray and assault on emergency service workers.

GMP Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said that three officers were assaulted during their response to a situation in the airport, adding that one female officer suffered a broken nose, while the others “were forced to the ground and suffered injuries which required hospital treatment”.

The force made two referrals to police watchdog the IOPC, which has launched an investigation. The IOPC said one referral concerns the use of force by an officer on a man detained on the ground, while the second relates to the same officer’s use of PAVA spray on another man at the airport.

The watchdog has already met at least one of the family's involved, and is analysing body worn video and CCTV footage as part of its investigation. It also set up a reporting line so people who may have witnessed or filmed the incident can contact them.

Police federations have also backed the officers, saying the newer footage showed the incident in a "different light".

The Greater Manchester Police Federation said the newer footage showed: "we need to protect the protectors", the Mail reported.

While Richard Cooke, chairman of the West Midlands Police Federation, reportedly told the newspaper: "We lost over 5,000 colleagues in the year to March voluntarily leaving. Assaulted repeatedly, poorly paid for the risks, slagged-off by clueless idiots.

"After this week that trend will only accelerate. I don't blame any of them."

The lawyer

The family of the man who was kicked was original represented by solicitor Yakoob. He initially said they have been "traumatised" by the incident, and said a CT scan of one of the men involved had revealed a "cyst on his brain".

But on 28 July, Yakoob stepped back from the case, accused the media of ”sabotaging him”. In a video recorded in the back of a car and posted to his Instagram account, he said: "They made this whole situation about me rather than police brutality and police misconduct which is unfair on the Greater Manchester Police and the family.

"So after consulting with the family I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer. But I wil be keeping a close eye on this."

He added: "I am not for violence, whether it's from police officers or whether it's from civilians – always remember that."

Politicians

Greater Manchester mayor Burnham met home secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss the issue after the original video emerged, while calling for calm and for people not to rush to judge in what he said was "not a clear-cut situation".

He urged people "not to rush to judgement", pointing out how complicated the situation was, with "issues on both sides". He told Sky News: "Simply nobody out there – everyone who’s having their say – nobody has got all of the facts.”

Rochdale MP Paul Waugh also said he had spoken to the family of the man involved, and has passed on a message from them appealing for calm.

He told the BBC: "The strong message they [the family] wanted to give is that they have no political agenda whatsoever.

"They wanted me to issue an appeal for calm among all sorts of different communities in Rochdale. We've had a history of unfortunate division in our town and we do not want to go back to those days."

Waugh added: “So, it’s my job to make sure that that family, who have been quite dignified in their response to this, get their wishes, which is to see calm prevail, but also for justice to prevail.”

The government urged people to remain calm while also expressing "deep concern". The prime minister official's spokesman said: "Clearly we understand the level of concern members of the public rightly have from seeing this video clip. The public rightly expect a high standard of conduct from our police officers, who are there to protect our communities. "

What we don't know

We still do not know the full detail of what precipitated the incident.

The suggestion has been that police were responding to an "altercation" and the latest footage to emerge sheds some light on what happened immediately before the officer kicked the man, but more detail of the full circumstances is yet to emerge.

We also do not know the identity of the officers involved, including the one who has been suspended.

The CPS are now reviewing the case but we still do not know if anyone will be charged.