Incident at Manchester Airport: Andy Burnham urges the public not to judge too quickly after new airport footage emerges

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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has urged people not to jump to conclusions after new video footage emerged showing the lead-up to a now viral scene in which a police officer appears to kick a man in the head.

The original video of part of the July 23 incident at Manchester Airport sparked protests in the city centre and Rochdale.

A new thirty-second clip shows a group of people standing around a ticket machine in a parking lot at Terminal 2.

Three police officers – one man and two women – detain a man wearing a matching light blue top and shorts.

A second man, wearing a black t-shirt, circles the male police officer and appears to begin to attack him.

Then the two appear to hit each other, while the first man hits the two policewomen several times, as can be seen in the clip that the Manchester Evening News.

The man in the black t-shirt is tasered by the male officer. At this point, it appears as if the second man has knocked down the other two officers and is punching the male officer in the back of the head.

After the male officer and the first man wrestle to the ground, he is apparently tasered by the female officers. The male officer stands up and appears to kick the man in the head, which is where the video ends.

The original video apparently showed the officer subsequently stomping on the man’s head.

Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said after the new footage was released that it was “a complicated situation with two sides” and urged people “not to make hasty judgements”.

Mr Burnham said: “Four people have been arrested and are now out on bail following incidents leading up to the footage which people have seen. It is frustrating that we have not been able to release more video to the public 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 progress in parallel with GMP’s parallel investigations into other possible criminal offences so that a full picture can be presented.

“As all of these investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to comment further.”

The mayor said the incident went through three phases. Before the footage was made public, there had already been an argument on an airplane.

He told Sky News on Sunday: “It’s a complicated situation, actually a very violent situation, and there have been problems on both sides.

“That’s why I asked other people not to judge too quickly, because the issue is so complex and no one knows all the facts, even if everyone expresses their opinion. No one knows the whole picture.”

Two nights of protests took place in Rochdale and Manchester city centre after the original clip, filmed in the airport’s Terminal 2 on Tuesday, was shared on social media.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Friday that the Greater Manchester Police officer had been informed that he was being investigated for assault.

A police spokesman said an officer had been served with a disciplinary notice informing him that he was being investigated for possible gross misconduct following several alleged breaches of police professional standards, including the use of force.

Catherine Bates, regional director of the IOPC, said: “We can confirm that we are conducting a criminal investigation into the use of violence during the events of 23 July at Manchester Airport. We are arranging the interview of a police officer under criminal supervision as soon as possible.

“I have met with one of the men involved and his family today to explain our investigation. We will keep them and Greater Manchester Police updated on the progress of our investigation. We will speak to the man involved in the second incident as soon as possible.

“The family has asked me to reiterate their call for peace and would like to stress that they will not tolerate 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.”