A Manchester policeman, whose identity has not yet been revealed, has been suspended from frontline duties after several videos circulated on social media showing officers beating at least three people inside Manchester Airport. Many people are now demanding answers for the brutal arrest, which Howard Beckett, a former member of Labour’s national executive committee, denounced as “thuggery in uniforms”.

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In the video, an armed officer can be seen pointing a taser at the suspect, before kicking him in the face and stamping on his head. An older woman unsuccessfully tries to shield the suspect throughout the violent arrest. Another officer is then seen kicking another suspect in the groin/stomach region as he kneels down in front of him, presumably to accept his arrest. A fact that has no doubt fuelled much of the outcry, is that both suspects appear to be in submissive/non-confrontational positions whilst enduring the violence, with one laying on his stomach and another kneeling in front of the officer. 

The Greater Manchester Police assistant chief constable Wasim Chaudhry issued the following statement on the incident:

 “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. The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.”

 Chaudhry added further context to the incident and explained the events that unfolded prior to the now viral video: 

“In advance of what is shown in the footage available, we were called to reports of an assault at terminal 2, Manchester airport, at 8.25pm on Tuesday 23 July…

During our response, three officers were assaulted. One female officer suffered a broken nose and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries which required hospital treatment.”

In response to these events that unfolded before the viral incident, Chaudhry stated that, “two men have been arrested on suspicion of assault, assault of emergency worker, affray, and obstructing police. Two other men have also been arrested on suspicion of affray and assault of an emergency worker.”

In response to the events which unfolded in the viral video, around 200 protestors gathered outside Rochdale Police Station yesterday evening, with some shouting chants such as -  "GMP shame on you!". They did not have to call for the officers removal for long as today the GMP issued a statement informing those concerned that  “one male officer has been removed from operational duties”.

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The GMP statement added:

“We are making a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office [for] Police Conduct (IOPC).”

The IOPC has since confirmed it has launched an investigation into the level of force used by a police officer in relation to the viral video.

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