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New video footage has emerged showing the run-up to a now-viral scene from Manchester Airport in which a police officer appears to kick a man in the head.
The thirty-second clip, obtained by the Manchester Evening News, shows a group of people standing around a ticket machine inside a car park at Terminal 2.
Three police officers – one male and two female – approach two men standing by one of the ticket machines and proceed to restrain one of them, who was wearing a matching light blue top and shorts.
The second man, wearing a black t-shirt, then circles around the male officer, who was leading the restraint of the first man, and appears to begin to attack him.
The pair then seem to begin punching one another while the first man hits the two female officers multiple times.
The man in the black t-shirt is eventually tased by the male officer, at which point the second man looks to have knocked the two other officers down and proceeds to punch the male officer in the back of the head.
After the male officer and the first man wrestle to the ground, he appears to be tased by the female officers. The male officer then gets up and appears to kick the man in the head, where the video ends.
It is the first time footage has been published of what happened in the moments before the initial video, which also shows the same incident.
Greater Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said after the release of the new footage “this is a complicated situation with two sides to it” and urged people “not to rush to judgement”.
He added: “Following incidents in the run-up to the footage people have seen, four individuals were arrested and are now on police bail. It is frustrating that we have not been able to put more video into the public domain but that is because this is a live investigation.
“People now need to step back and allow the IOPC’s criminal investigation into the officer’s conduct to move forward, alongside the parallel GMP investigation into other potential offences, so that a complete picture can be presented.
“Given all these investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”
There were two nights of protests in Rochdale and Manchester city centre since the original clip, filmed at Terminal 2 of the airport on Tuesday, was shared on social media.
It also appears to show the officer stamping on the head of the man as he was lying face down on the floor, with a woman kneeling beside him.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Friday the Greater Manchester Police officer had been advised he was under criminal investigation for assault.
The officer 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, a spokesman said.
IOPC regional director Catherine Bates said: “We can confirm we are conducting a criminal investigation into the use of force during events which took place on July 23 at Manchester Airport. We are arranging to interview a police constable under criminal caution as soon as possible.
“I have today met one of the men who was involved and his family members to outline our investigation and we will continue to update them and Greater Manchester Police as our inquiries progress. We will be speaking to the man involved in the second incident as soon as we can.
“The family has asked me to reiterate their call for peace and wish to stress that they do not condone any acts of violence as a result of this incident.
“We are meeting with a number of community leaders in Rochdale this afternoon to listen to their concerns and explain our role.”
Source: independent.co.uk
