Racism
played part in police kick incident at Manchester airport, says former senior
officer
Former Met
chief superintendent Dal Babu says footage of man being kicked in face by
officer is ‘totally appalling’
Robyn Vinter
North of England correspondent
Thu 25 Jul
2024 09.39 BST
Racism
played a “significant part” in a man being kicked in the face and stamped on by
police during an arrest at Manchester airport, according to a former
Metropolitan police chief superintendent.
Dal Babu,
who served for more than 30 years in the Met, described a video of the arrest
as shocking and “totally appalling”.
The video,
filmed at Manchester airport on Tuesday, appears to show a man being kicked in
the face and his head being stamped on by a Greater Manchester police (GMP)
officer as he lies prone on the floor, with a later clip showing police shoving
a woman who is attempting to de-escalate the situation.
On Thursday
morning, GMP said the police officer had been suspended from all duties
following a “thorough review of further information”. The force referred its
actions to the Independent Office for Police Conduct on Wednesday.
Speaking on
BBC Radio 4’s Today programme, Babu said the force used was “totally excessive”
on a man who was “effectively defenceless”, adding: “I think racism played a
significant part in this.”
He said:
“This is a very, very serious incident, and at a time when trust in the police
is so low, this is another example of an incident where people will be further
concerned. In the old days, it used to be minorities, used to be LGBTQ people,
used to be young people, but now I think no matter where you go, more and more
people have less confidence in the police.”
He said he
thought the Home Office would be “very interested” in the case. “This is a
really significant incident that really needs to be dealt with effectively, and
I’m not sure that Greater Manchester police has the skills necessary to manage
working with the communities to try and reduce the tension.”
Police said
three of their officers had been assaulted in the altercation at the airport’s
terminal 2, including a female PC who suffered a broken nose, and four men were
arrested for affray and assaulting emergency service workers.
Demonstrators
at a protest on Wednesday night were reported to have shouted “GMP shame on
you” as an estimated 200 people gathered outside Rochdale police station. The
assistant chief constable Wasim Chaudhry said the protest “concluded safely,
without incident”, adding: “We understand the immense feeling of concern and
worry that people feel about our response and fully respect their right to
demonstrate their views peacefully.”
He said: “We
have spent the evening listening to community feedback and will continue to
engage with communities and elected members to maintain strong partnership
links and understand local views.”
Babu said he
thought it was “quite worrying” that an Asian officer was put forward to speak
to the press about the incident. He said: “It’s not the chief constable, it’s
not Steve Watson, it’s Asian officers. You can count on one hand the number of
senior Asian officers in Greater Manchester police.
“There is a
little bit of a cynical attempt to put forward an Asian officer to try to say
‘we’re dealing with this’, but this incident is over 48 hours in, and I think
Greater Manchester police have been slow out the blocks in understanding the
seriousness of this.”
The Rochdale
MP, Paul Waugh, said he was due to meet with the family involved on Thursday,
describing the footage as “truly shocking and disturbing”. “Like many who have
seen this clip, I am extremely concerned. I have had it confirmed that the man
arrested is a Rochdale resident and I hope to meet the family as soon as
possible,” he said.
“It’s right
that the police officer concerned has been removed from duties and that this
incident has been referred to the Independent Office for Police Conduct. I
expect a thorough and swift investigation.”
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