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A grandmother was allegedly Taser A police officer Manchester Airport The family’s lawyers claimed it was shortly after he kicked her motionless son.
Shameem Akhtar, 56, believed her two sons, Fahir Amaaz, 19, and Muhammad Amaad, 25, had been “killed”. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) They were allegedly tasered by police and then pinned to their knees by officers, their lawyer Aamer Anwar said.
Anwar also revealed the “alleged racist language” from a male airline passenger that sparked the conflict during a press conference in Manchester city centre on Tuesday.
Protests break out in Rochdale and Manchester city centre A video circulating on social media shows the events that took place during the July 23 arrest at the airport.
More shots by Manchester Evening NewsA few days later, a report emerged showing the immediate antecedents of the riot in the pay station area of the airport’s Terminal 2 parking lot.
Male and female officers tried to subdue Mr Amaz and Mr Ahmad but they engaged in a series of blows and kicks, with two of the female officers being knocked to the ground before Mr Amaz was hit with a stun gun.
GMP said the investigation was ongoing: “We are cooperating fully with the independent inquiry examining police conduct and are actively investigating all three incidents.”
The family, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, and their lawyers attended a press conference on Tuesday to “set the record straight following a deliberate attempt to smear their family” and revealed details of further abuse and the “chaos” that took place at the pay station.
Anwar said the family had been “devastated and traumatised” by the incident and had suffered “horrific, racist and Islamophobic abuse on social media”.
Anwar said Mrs Akhtar tried to pull her son’s head away after the apparent stampede by police and thought “the police might kill her son at that moment”.
Anwar continued: “The man in the video allegedly kneeled over Fasheer and pressed his knee on his back while Fasheer was still limp, and then he looked directly at Mrs Akhtar.
“At this point, the male officer still had his Taser drawn and then with his right hand, which was holding the Taser, he allegedly used the Taser as a weapon to strike Mrs. Akhtar directly in the face. At this point Mrs. Akhtar screamed and covered her face because she was terrified that she would now be subjected to the same violence that she claimed her son had inflicted.”
She said Ms Akhtar later touched her face and noticed blood coming from her cheek below her left eye and that she was “dizzy, crying and disoriented”, with photos showing bruises on the left side of her face.
Anwar said no police attended to her injuries and she and her crying, “distressed” six-year-old grandson were left among the luggage that was strewn everywhere.
One officer was suspended by GMP following the incident, and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later said it understood an officer was under criminal investigation for assault.
After the subsequent video was released, Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham urges people to ‘step back’ and allow authorities to conduct investigations.
Mr Amaz and Mr Ahmad were among four men arrested on suspicion of affray and assault and were later released on bail.
Mr Anwar said his family would fully support “robust due process of law” if Mr Amaz and Mr Ahmad were charged with a crime – but at this stage they have not been convicted.
He added that he was seeking further meetings with IOPC regional director Catherine Bates, making a formal complaint to GMP officers and meeting with the mayor.
“If the police have done the right thing they should be praised and the victim’s family wish to record their gratitude to the police for having to deal with right-wing racist thugs for several days,” the lawyer said.
But he added: “In our democracy, we have a right to expect that those in uniform will not act like thugs and will act within the law.”
Outlining what he said were the “prompts” for the incident, Anwar said Ms Akhtar had earlier been subjected to a “barrage of alleged racial abuse” by a fellow passenger, a Kuwaiti man, on a Qatar Airways flight when she returned from a holiday in Pakistan and occupied an empty seat as she was unwell.
He said: “Soon after she sat down, she heard a man muttering in the back row… Over the next few hours, the man relentlessly directed alleged racial slurs at her.”
He said Ms Akhtar feared the man was going to beat her because he towered over her and “hurled curse words” despite her pleas for him to calm down.
She claims the man later hit her repeatedly with his carry-on luggage as she walked toward baggage claim.
Anwar said Ms Akhtar walked out of the arrivals hall and saw her two sons and grandson, “in tears” and recounted her ordeal before she noticed the male passenger.
Mr Anwar said: “Her two sons approached the man and confronted him about the abuse. The man was rude and laughed in her sons’ faces. An argument ensued.”
Anwar said he had previously raised concerns about GMP’s “failure” to investigate hate crime allegations against Mrs Akhtar and that she felt “betrayed”.
GMP are appealing for any witnesses to come forward with evidence about the altercation on Qatar Airways flight QR023, which arrived at 7.20pm, a second “violent” altercation at Starbucks at 8.22pm, and an incident at the car park pay desk at 8.28pm.
Qatar Airways declined to comment.
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