A police officer filmed kicking a man in the head at Manchester airport also pepper sprayed and wrestled another man to the ground in a separate incident.
The police officer was filmed stamping on a suspect as he was lying face down on the floor at Manchester Airport Terminal 2 on Tuesday.
In the subsequent furore the officer was suspended by Greater Manchester Police and a referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for a full independent investigation.
Fresh footage has now emerged of another incident which shows police officers confronting a group of men before appearing to move in to arrest them.
The officer involved in the first incident grabs one of the men and uses his canister of pepper spray on him before getting him into a headlock.
He is then wrestled to the ground while the onlooker says “he didn’t f***ing do anything”.
It is unclear whether the incident in the new recording took place before or after the officer had kicked the man laying on the floor.
After being approached by The Independent for comment on the latest footage, a spokeperson for GMP said: “Following a thorough review of further information that has become available in relation to an incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday evening, Greater Manchester Police has suspended a police officer from all duties.
“A referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for a full independent investigation.
“We understand the deep concerns that have been widely raised with us, and will continue to meet and discuss these feelings with Greater Manchester residents and elected representatives, whilst this independent investigation takes place.”
Police said three of their officers had been assaulted, including a female Police Constable who suffered a broken nose, and four men were arrested.
Paul Waugh, the Labour MP for Rochdale, has met the with family. He said: “The police themselves said it was a distressing clip but just imagine if that was your brother or your son in that clip; you can imagine how distraught they are.”
Mr Waugh said: “This is a hardworking Rochdale family, some of whose members are police officers themselves and are therefore particularly shocked at what they have witnessed.”
He went on: “The family also want me to make it crystal clear that they have no political agenda, do not condone political violence and do not want to take part in any protests.
“They wanted me to appeal for calm and I hope that appeal is heeded.
“While there is clearly deep concern about this incident, there is also a vital need not to let extremists of any kind hijack these events for their own ends.”
Mayor of Greater Manchester, Mr Burnham, who met with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss the incident, also asked for calm, saying the “right and proper steps” had been taken.
Speaking on BBC Radio Manchester on Thursday morning, Mr Burnham said full footage of the incident showed a “fast-moving and complicated” situation with “issues for both sides”, but said it was “right” that the officer had been suspended.
He urged people not to use the situation for “political purposes”.
Speaking to media outside Rochdale police station, solicitor Akhmed Yakoob said: “The family are okay but they are traumatised.”
He said the condition of one of the men had worsened and said a CT scan revealed a “cyst on his brain”.
He added: “The main concern for us, for me, is that the family receive justice and this no longer happens again.”
The events prompted angry protests for a second night on Thursday, with roads and tram lines blocked in Manchester city centre.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s office as part of a Stand Up To Racism demonstration, chanting slogans such as “No justice, no peace, no racist police”.
The regional director of police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Catherine Bates, promised a “thorough and robust” independent investigation into the incident and said body-worn video and CCTV footage had been secured.
Most Popular
Comments / 0