GMP send footage of cops "kicking" man at airport to watchdog

A watchdog has been asked to scrutinise video footage appearing to show police officers kneeling on, punching, and kicking a man while pinned to the ground during an arrest at Manchester Airport.

The clip, filmed by a holidaymaker and sent to the MEN, appears to show a man on the ground at one of the bus stops in the terminal.

A Greater Manchester Police spokesperson said today: “We have concluded our initial assessment, and we are in contact with the Independent Office for Police Conduct. Our Professional Standards Directorate has met with the man involved who is well and does not wish to make a formal complaint. He remains on police bail.”

The IOPC will now determine whether it will carry out an independent investigation, whether the force should do so, or whether no action is warranted. No decision has yet been made as to whether the three officers in the clip should be suspended, or placed on restricted duties.

In the footage, an officer appears to hit the man with his hands four times and kick him twice in the stomach, with the man appearing to be struck further times by other officers. The incident was said to have been recorded on Sunday December 29 at 1pm.

Earlier this week GMP said they 'understand the concerns around the use of force shown on the clip' and it is being assessed by the force's Professional Standards Directorate. CCTV footage of the officers' body-worn cameras will be checked, they added.

The MEN understands that police had initially been called to the bus station at the airport on Sunday to reports of a drunk and disorderly male who was refused entry onto a bus and was causing a disturbance.

An officer is understood to have arrived to arrest the man, who resisted and was restrained, with