GREATER Manchester Police is rotten to the core and must be dismantled, campaigners charged today after an officer was recorded on video kicking and stamping on a Muslim man’s head at Manchester airport.
Mohammed Fahir, 19, has had a CT scan revealing there is “a cyst on his brain” after his condition worsened overnight, his lawyer said.
The incident was filmed and shared on social media on Wednesday.
After attacking Mr Fahir, surrounded by a group of colleagues, the Taser-wielding officer then turned on his brother, who had his hands behind his head, and kicked him to the ground.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said that since there were firearms officers present “there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them.”
They said officers were called to Terminal Two following reports of a fight and that three officers were attacked. Four arrests were made.
The men’s lawyer Akhmed Yakoob said the family are traumatised.
He said they are brothers of a GMP officer who is now afraid to go into work, fearing for his own safety.
After the incident, around 200 people protested outside Rochdale police station chanting: “GMP shame on you!”
Former Met Police chief superintendent Dal Babu told BBC Radio 4 that he believes racism “played a significant part” in the incident.
The police watchdog confirmed that an investigation is under way.
The officer seen inflicting the violence has been suspended from all duties.
After reviewing the full footage, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham claimed it was “not a clear-cut situation” and that a serious incident had escalated quickly.
Stand Up to Racism Greater Manchester said there was “no possible justification” for the attack, and organised a rally outside Mr Burnham’s office this evening.
In 2021, a report commissioned by Mr Burnham concluded that GMP was “institutionally racist,” a finding which was rejected by GMP Chief Constable Stephen Watson, who still heads the force.
GMP had also been put under special measures after it failed to record a fifth of all reported crimes, and was only lifted out of it two years ago.
Ameen Hadi, from Manchester Stand Up to Racism, said: “This is the latest in a long catalogue of misogynistic, racist and homophobic behaviour.
“Chief Constable Watson must be held accountable by GM Mayor Andy Burnham and sacked.
“GMP is rotten to the core and must be dismantled.”
Kevin Blowe, campaigns co-ordinator of Netpol, said that the incident “could easily have proven fatal.”
He said: “Having been involved in police monitoring for over three decades, what also stood out for me was the unlawful efforts by officers to stop others from documenting what they saw and later the police spin seeking to somehow justify it.
“All too often this is what racialised communities in Manchester and beyond are forced to endure: not just a profoundly racist police force, but also the gaslighting and denial of the daily reality of oppressive policing.”
Habib Kadiri, director of Stop Watch, said the video “shows a blatant disregard for the principle of minimal force.
“Worst of all, the actions of officers towards a Muslim family at an airport reveals an Islamophobic strain of violence that confirms a growing fear among racialised minorities that the police do not keep them safe.”
Unable to resist the opportunity to spout hate, Richard Tice of the far-right Reform UK said the video was reassuring and MP Lee Anderson claimed that most Brits would applaud such policing.
A statement released by the Muslim Association of Britain said the events are “against a backdrop of rising incidents of police brutality, particularly targeting minority ethnic communities.
“Already, those on the far-right fringes of society are attempting to justify these actions and sow division.
“We must not allow their divisive rhetoric to take hold.”
