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Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has urged people not to rush to judgment after new video footage emerged showing the scene leading up to a now-viral scene in which a police officer appears to kick a man in the head.
Original video of part of the July 23 incident at Manchester Airport sparked protests in the city centre and Rochdale.
A new thirty-second clip shows a group of people standing around a ticket machine in a Terminal 2 parking lot.
Three police officers – one man and two women – restrain a man wearing a matching light blue top and shorts.
A second man, wearing a black T-shirt, surrounds the officer and appears to begin to attack him.
The couple then appear to begin punching each other while the first man repeatedly punches the two female officers in the clip obtained by the Manchester Evening News.
The man in the black T-shirt is tased by the male officer, at which point the second man appears to have knocked down the other two officers and begins punching the male officer in the back of the head.
After the officer and the first man get on the ground, he appears to be tasered by the female officers. The officer gets back up and appears to kick the man in the head, which marks the end of the video.
The original video appeared to show the officer then stomping on the man’s head.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said after the new footage emerged that it was a “complicated situation with two sides to it” and urged people “not to rush to judgement”.
Mr Burnham said: “Following the incidents that took place before the footage was released, four people were arrested and are now on bail. It is frustrating that we have not been able to put more footage into the public domain, but that is because this is a live investigation.”
“People must now step back and allow the IOPC’s criminal investigation into the officer’s conduct to progress, alongside GMP’s parallel investigation into other potential offences, so that a full picture can be presented.
“Given that all of these investigations are ongoing, it would not be appropriate to make further comment.”
The mayor said the incident unfolded in three stages, with an earlier argument taking place on a plane before the footage was seen by the public.
He told Sky News on Sunday: “It’s a complicated situation, a very violent situation, actually, and there have been problems on both sides.
“That’s why I asked others not to rush to judgment because of the complexity of the situation and, quite simply, not having all the elements in hand. No one has a complete vision of the situation.”
There were two nights of protests in Rochdale and Manchester city centre after the original clip, filmed at Terminal 2 of the airport on Tuesday, was shared on social media.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said on Friday that the Greater Manchester Police officer had been informed he was the subject of a criminal investigation for assault.
An officer has been issued a disciplinary notice informing him he is under investigation for potential serious misconduct for a number of alleged breaches of police professional standards, including his use of force, a spokesperson has said.
Catherine Bates, IOPC regional director, said: “We can confirm that we are conducting a criminal investigation into the use of force during the events at Manchester Airport on 23 July. We plan to interview a police officer who is the subject of a criminal caution as soon as possible.
“I have met with one of the men involved and his family today to outline our investigation and we will continue to keep them and Greater Manchester Police informed of the progress of our investigations. We will speak to the man involved in the second incident as soon as possible.
“The family has asked me to reiterate their call for peace and wishes to stress that they do not condone any acts of violence following this incident.
“We are meeting with a number of community leaders in Rochdale this afternoon to listen to their concerns and explain our role.”
