The new footage, shared by Manchester Evening News, captured the lead-up to the now-infamous moment.Previously shared clips showed an officer kicking and stamping on a man’s head as he lay on the ground, but this new footage provides a more comprehensive view of the violent confrontation.
At the start of the clip, a group of people is seen standing around a ticket machine inside a car park at Terminal 2. Three police officers — one male and two females — then walk through the group towards a man in light blue, who is facing the machine. An officer attempts to restrain the man by grabbing his hands and pushing his head down, while his two female colleagues stand beside him.
The situation escalates when another man from the group intervenes, attempting to free the detained individual. This leads to a physical altercation, with punches exchanged between the officer and the man. The detained man also breaks free and begins attacking the female officers, delivering blows to their heads and faces, with one officer being knocked to the ground.
The male officer then brandishes his taser, attempting to subdue the attackers. However, the situation spirals further out of control when the second man launches another attack, resulting in a prolonged struggle. The officer eventually manages to point his taser at the man, but the tension culminates in the officer appearing to kick and stamp on the man’s head as he lay face down, as shown in the viral footage.
The incident has ignited a series of protests across the region, with public figures and those involved in the incident calling for calm. The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) announced on Friday night that a police constable is under criminal investigation for assault. The IOPC emphasized that this does not necessarily mean criminal charges will follow but confirmed that a decision on whether to refer the case to the Crown Prosecution Service would be made after their investigation concludes.