Manchester family fight back against ‘cop smears’

Manchester police have been accused of violence

A family who were the victims of police violence in Manchester Airport are fighting back against police lies.

Footage of a police officer kicking and stamping on a 19 year old’s head went viral online last month, sparking protests over the shocking scenes. Police arrested Fahir and his brother Muhammed Amaad following the attack.

Aamer Anwar, their lawyer, told a press conference last week that the cops had subjected the family to a sustained period of violence and then a “smear campaign”.

He said the cops had leaked sections of footage in an effort to exonerate themselves from accusations of racist violence. Fahir and Amaad were picking up Shameem Akhtar, their mother, from the airport.

She had faced racist slurs from a fellow passenger during her flight from Pakistan. Cops intervened when the brothers went to confront the person, but they then subjected the family to a violent ordeal.

They allege a cop called Amaad a “dirty f****** c***.” And, when an officer was asked why his body camera was off, he allegedly replied, “I’ll show you why” before dragging Fahir around a corner, out of view, where he was thrown to the ground.

The cop then is accused of saying, “Do you want my camera on now you dirty c***?” The family allege that a cop grabbed Fahir’s neck and slammed his head into a ticket machine. They also allege police assaulted his mother.

“The officer, while punching Amaad, pushes her to the ground and she looked up and saw the officer firing a Taser at Amaad. She then screamed ‘They’ve killed my son’ in Urdu,” Aamer told the press conference.

“It is at this point, as the officer stands up, he proceeds to run and kick Fahir in the face. Mrs Akhtar then tried to pull her son’s head away and as the officer then attempts to stamp on his head, as can be seen in the video,” he said.

The family further say that “the male officer strikes Mrs Akhtar directly in the face using his Taser as a weapon.”

Although there is an investigation by the IOPC cops’ tame watchdog, the family is fighting back over what Anwar said is a “campaign of disinformation in an attempt to justify police violence”.

“There is never any legal justification for the use of excessive, disproportionate and potentially lethal force,” Anwar said.

“The repeated attempts by so‑called ‘police sources’ to spin a false narrative or partial context, is deeply unhelpful to an IOPC investigation.

“Leaked footage does not show exactly what the police did, how the incident unfolded, nor the full conduct of officers in the aftermath of the incident in all parts of the airport, including after the arrests.”

A spokesperson for Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said the force was “fully cooperating” with the IOPC. GMP had said their firearms officers were subject to a “violent” attack while trying to make an arrest at the airport.