Incident during which police officer kicked man in head isn't 'clear cut', Manchester mayor says

The man who was kicked in the head and stamped on by a police officer has a cyst on his brain, a lawyer for the family has said.

Akhmed Yakoob made the comment in a statement outside Rochdale Police Station, a day after footage of the incident at Manchester Airport was shared widely on social media.

He said the man – named by the lawyer as Fahir – was found to have a cyst on his brain after a CT scan following the incident.

Mr Yakoob – who is also representing Fahir’s brother Amaad and their elderly mother – added Fahir’s condition worsened overnight.

All three of them claim they were assaulted by at least one officer from Greater Manchester Police (GMP) at the airport on Tuesday night.

Mr Yakoob then said the family are “traumatised” and shared that Fahir’s older brother works as a police officer for Greater Manchester Police, who is now “afraid to go to work”.

He added: “He went in today and spoke to his supervisor, and the only reason he is not going to work is because he is fearing for his own safety.”

‘Nothing justifies barbaric treatment’

The statement comes after GMP confirmed an officer had been suspended in relation to footage which appeared to show a suspect being kicked in the head and stamped on while he was lying on the ground.

The footage, which was filmed at Manchester Airport on Tuesday evening, led to an outcry after it was shared widely on social media.

GMP said in an earlier statement that it understood the “immense feeling of concern and worry that people feel” after the footage emerged.

They added they had been responding to reports of an assault at the airport before the footage was filmed.

Mr Yakoob said he is not aware what happened before the incident, but said “nothing justifies the barbaric treatment from the police officers”.

Dal Babu, former Metropolitan Police chief superintendent, told Sky News he believes the level of force used by the officer in the video “was not reasonable”.

“The reasonable thing to do at that stage would be to handcuff (Fahir), but instead the officer has then kicked him in the face,” he said.

“This was a totally disproportionate amount of force being used.”

‘Fully independent’ IOPC probe

In a statement, the Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham said he and his deputy “have now had the opportunity to meet with both the Home Secretary and the regional director” of the IOPC.

“It was agreed that the IOPC investigation now under way will be carried out as swiftly as possible, will involve community stakeholders, and will be truly independent,” he added.

“I hope this provides further reassurance to people that all the right steps are being taken, that all relevant issues will be fully considered, and gives people confidence in the process as it moves forward.”

It comes after an estimated 200 demonstrators gathered outside Rochdale Police Station on Wednesday night with some shouting “GMP shame on you!”.

Police said the protest ended “without incident”.

This article was originally published by Sky.com. Read the original article here.

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