A British policeman has been removed from frontline duty after multiple videos emerged on social media showing officers beating at least three people inside Manchester Airport in an incident the city\u2019s own force has labeled \u201ctruly shocking.\u201d <\/p>\n
The viral videos, in which one officer could be seen stomping on a man\u2019s head, are the latest to spark a public and political argument in Britain over whether violence used by police was proportionate or justified. <\/p>\n
Greater Manchester Police said the footage on social media showed a confrontation that began after three officers were injured in a \u201cviolent assault,\u201d including one female officer who suffered a broken nose. <\/p>\n
But the force added that the event seen in the videos was \u201ctruly shocking\u201d and an \u201cunusual occurrence,\u201d adding it had voluntarily referred its response to Britain\u2019s independent police watchdog. <\/p>\n
The videos began circulating Wednesday, quickly going viral on social media and sparking an outcry from both the public and some politicians. <\/p>\n
One video shows a man on the ground with at least two police officers pointing a taser at him. A male police officer moves closer to the man and starts kicking him in the face, while his taser is still drawn, before stomping on his head. <\/p>\n
Later in the same video, another man, whose hands were in the air while sitting nearby, is taken to the ground after a police officer points a taser at him. After the second man kneels on the ground, one officer starts kicking him before another wrestles him to the ground and appears to try to constrain his hands behind his back. <\/p>\n
The video appears to show the attacks taking place on the ground level of the airport outside of several elevators. <\/p>\n
Another video shows a man in a gray T-shirt being confronted, pepper-sprayed in the face, and brought to the ground by a police officer who wrapped his arm around the man\u2019s neck as he wrestled him down. <\/p>\n
The condition of the men following the confrontation is unclear. <\/p>\n
In its statement released on X, Greater Manchester Police outlined what it said were the events that led up to the videos. <\/p>\n
Police said they were called to Terminal 2 of the airport on Tuesday evening following reports of an assault. <\/p>\n
When police confronted the male suspect, three officers were injured in a \u201cviolent assault, where they were punched to the ground,\u201d with one female officer ending up with a broken nose, the force said. <\/p>\n
Four men have been arrested for assaulting an emergency worker, the statement added. <\/p>\n
\u201cWe know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about,\u201d Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said in the statement. <\/p>\n
\u201cThe use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.\u201d <\/p>\n
A male officer has been \u201cremoved from operational duties,\u201d Chaudhry added, and Greater Manchester Police have also asked for a review by the Independent Office of Police Conduct. <\/p>\n
Protesters gathered outside the force\u2019s divisional headquarters in the town of Rochdale on Wednesday, PA media reported. <\/p>\n
Multiple British politicians condemned the assaults shown in the videos. Andy Burnham, the mayor of Greater Manchester, called the videos \u201cdisturbing\u201d in a post on X. <\/p>\n
Paul Waugh, the local MP for Rochdale, said in a post on X he is \u201cextremely concerned\u201d by the \u201cappalling\u201d footage from Manchester Airport, noting he has expressed his concerns to police. <\/p>\n
The man who was arrested is a Rochdale resident, Waugh said, adding in a later post that he has spoken to the man\u2019s family and will meet them Friday. <\/p>\n
UK Home Office Minister Diana Johnson said on X that she was \u201caware of the disturbing footage\u201d and \u201cunderstand(s) the public concern it has prompted.\u201d <\/p>\n
But not all lawmakers condemned the police actions. <\/p>\n
Richard Tice, deputy leader of Reform UK and one of five recently elected MPs for the right-wing populist party, said in a television interview that seeing the video was \u201cnot distressing\u201d but rather \u201creassuring\u201d that police officers were responding to a \u201cserious issue\u201d if they were using such force. <\/p>\n<\/p>\n
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