A grandmother was allegedly struck in the face with a Taser by a police officer at Manchester Airport moments after he kicked her motionless son, the family’s lawyer has claimed.
Shameem Akhtar, 56, believed for a moment that both her sons – Fahir Amaaz, 19, and Muhammad Amaad, 25 – had been “killed” by Greater Manchester Police (GMP) after they were allegedly Tasered and later knelt on by officers, said their solicitor Aamer Anwar.
Speaking at a press conference in Manchester city centre on Tuesday, Mr Anwar also revealed the “tirade of alleged racist abuse” from a male airline passenger that sparked the confrontation.
Protests erupted in Rochdale and Manchester city centre after a video circulated on social media showing the incident during an arrest at the airport on 23 July.
More footage, obtained by the Manchester Evening News , emerged days later, which showed the immediate lead-up to the disturbance at the airport’s Terminal 2 car park pay station area.
Male and female officers tried to restrain Mr Amaaz and Mr Amaad, who were involved in a series of strikes and punches – with two women officers hit to the ground – before Mr Amaaz was tasered.
Stating that investigations are ongoing, GMP said: “We are fully cooperating with the independent investigation reviewing police conduct, while actively pursuing lines of enquiry into three incidents.”
The family, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, appeared alongside their solicitor at Tuesday’s press conference to “set the record straight … after a deliberate attempt to smear the family”, revealing further alleged mistreatment and details about how the “pandemonium” at the pay station unfolded.
Mr Anwar said the family had been left “devastated and traumatised” by the incident and had also been subjected to “horrific, racist and Islamophobic abuse on social media”.
After the apparent stamping, Mrs Akhtar attempted to pull her son’s head away and thought the officer “could have killed her son at that point”, said Mr Anwar.
Mr Anwar went on: “The male it is alleged as seen in the video then kneels down on Fahir placing his knee on his back whilst he is still limp and he then looks up straight at Mrs Akhtar.
“At this point, the male officer still has his Taser drawn, then using his right hand in which he has his Taser it is alleged he strikes Mrs Akhtar directly in the face using his Taser as a weapon. At this point Mrs Akhtar screamed and held her face as she was terrified that she would now be subjected to the same violence as she alleges her sons were.”
She said Mrs Akhtar later touched her face and noticed she was bleeding from her cheek underneath her left eye and that she was “dazed, crying and disorientated”, with photographs showing bruising to the left side of her face.
Mr Anwar said no officer attended to her injuries as she and her crying, “distressed”, six-year-old grandson were left with luggage strewn everywhere.
A police officer was suspended by GMP in the wake of the incident and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) later said a police constable, understood to be the same officer, was under criminal investigation for assault.
Following the release of the later footage, the Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, urged people to “take a step back” and allow the authorities to carry out their investigations.
Mr Amaaz and Mr Amaad were among four men who were arrested on suspicion of affray and assault before they were later bailed.
Mr Anwar said the family fully supports the “robust, due legal process” if Mr Amaaz and Mr Amaad stand accused of criminality – but they do not currently have a single conviction.
He added that he is seeking a further meeting with IOPC regional director Catherine Bates over lodging a formal complaint against GMP officers, and also a meeting with the mayor.
The solicitor said: “When they get it right the police should be praised and the family wish to place on record their thanks to the police who for days have had to face right-wing racist thugs.”
But he added: “In our democracy, we have the right to expect that those in uniform will not act as thugs and will act within the law.”
Outlining what he said “sparked” the incident, Mr Anwar said Mrs Akhtar was earlier subjected to a “tirade of alleged racist abuse” from a fellow passenger, a male Kuwaiti national, on a Qatar Airways flight as she made use of an empty seat because she was feeling unwell while returning from a holiday in Pakistan.
He said: “Shortly after making use of the seat, she could hear a male muttering in the row behind her ... The male went out of his way over the course of the next several hours to subject her to a tirade of alleged racist abuse.”
He said Mrs Akhtar was scared the man was going to physically assault her as he towered over her “hurling abuse” despite her appeals for him to calm down.
She claimed the male later used his hand luggage to repeatedly bump into her as she headed towards the baggage claim area.
Mrs Akhtar saw her two sons and grandchild when she exited arrivals and “broke down into tears”, said Mr Anwar, and recounted her ordeal, before later noticing the male passenger.
Mr Anwar said: “Both her sons approached the male and questioned him regarding the abuse. The male was rude and proceeded to laugh in her sons’ faces. An altercation then took place.”
Mr Anwar said he had previously raised concerns at GMP’s “failure” to investigate an alleged hate crime against Mrs Akhtar, who feels “betrayed”.
GMP has appealed for any witnesses to the altercation on Qatar Airways flight QR023, which arrived at 7.20pm, the second “violent” altercation at Starbucks at 8.22pm and the incident at the car park paypoint area at 8.28pm.
The Independent has approached Qatar Airways for comment.
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