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New video footage shows chaos at Manchester Airport before man was kicked in the head

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Louise Thomas

New video footage has emerged showing the lead-up to a now viral scene at Manchester Airport in which a police officer appears to kick a man in the head.

The 30-second clip, which was released by Manchester Evening Newsshows a group of people standing around a ticket machine in a parking garage at Terminal 2.

Three police officers – a man and two women – approach two men standing by one of the ticket machines and detain one of them, who was wearing a matching light blue top and shorts.

The second man, wearing a black t-shirt, then circles the male police officer who was holding the first man and appears to begin attacking him.

Then the two appear to start hitting each other, with the first man hitting the two policewomen several times.

New footage shows the moments before the now viral video clip
New footage shows the moments before the now viral video clip (MEN Media)

The man in the black t-shirt is eventually tasered by the male police officer, after which the second man appears to knock down the other two police officers and then hits the male police officer on the back of the head.

After the male officer and the first man wrestle to the ground, the female officers appear to taser him. The male officer then stands up and appears to kick the man in the head, which is where the video ends.

This is the first time that footage of events in the moments before the first video showing the same incident has been released.

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”.

He added: “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.”

Andy Burnham has spoken out again after the release of the new footage
Andy Burnham has spoken out again after the release of the new footage (PA Archive)

Since the original clip, filmed in the airport’s Terminal 2 on Tuesday, was shared on social media, there have been two nights of protests in Rochdale and Manchester city centre.

It also appears to show the officer stomping on the head of the man who is lying face down on the ground with a woman kneeling next to him.

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 spokesman said the officer also received a disciplinary notice informing him that he was being investigated for possible gross misconduct based on several alleged violations 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.”