Footage appearing to show a man being punched and kicked” by officers at Manchester Airport has led to the force being contacted by the police watchdog.
A holidaymaker took the video of the incident at around 1pm on Sunday (December 29) and now Greater Manchester Police has been approached by the Independent Office for Police Conduct. The clip appears to show a man being punched, kicked and kneeled on by police whilst on the ground during an arrest near an airport bus stop.
It’s understood that officers were responding to reports of a man being drunk and disorderly, who had been denied entry onto a bus and caused a disturbance. The Manchester Evening News was given a copy of the video and it understands neither the suspect nor a member of the public made a formal complaint about the incident.
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Police appearing to hold the man to the ground during the incident
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Image:
Manchester Evening News/ WS)
In a statement issued this morning (Tuesday), the IOPC confirmed it had been in touch with GMP about the video footage. A spokesman said: “We are aware of footage circulating on social media appearing to show an incident involving GMP officers at Manchester Airport. We have made contact with GMP to find out whether it had received any relevant complaints or identified any conduct issues that would require a referral to us.”
CCTV and police body-worn camera footage is now set to be reviewed as part of a probe by GMP’s professional standards unit. An officer is understood to have arrived to arrest the man, who resisted and was restrained, with multiple other officers then called.
Footage shows the man being struck on the ground
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Image:
Manchester Evening News/ WS)
During what appears to be a struggle, an officer is seen in the clip holding handcuffs and he hits the man with his hands four times in the stomach. The same person then kicks him twice in the footage, before appearing to punch him three more times. One officer is seen in the clip holding down the man’s head, with another pinned down his feet.
An officer kneeling on the man then continues to strike him four more times while the officer holding the man’s head onto the ground, then appears to use his other hand to hit him in the face, before the man raises his hand as onlookers watch on. A GMP spokesman said on Monday: “We are currently reviewing a video published online showing the arrest of a man at Manchester Airport’s bus terminal yesterday afternoon (Sunday, December 29 2024). We understand the concerns around the use of force shown on the clip and our professional standards unit is assessing all available footage including the officers’ body worn cameras and CCTV.”