UK: Manchester Officer Suspended Over Video of Kicking Man's Head

Facts

• A UK officer was suspended on Thursday after footage appearing to show him kicking and stomping on a suspect's head at Manchester Airport was circulated online. Greater Manchester Police (GMP) said officers were attacked while trying to arrest someone over a fight at Terminal Two.¹
• The police stated that as they were responding to a fight at 8:25 pm on Tuesday, three officers were attacked, punched to the ground, and a female officer suffered a broken nose.²
• Alongside the male officer holding a taser and kicking the motionless man, the video also seemingly shows another man on a bench being kicked by police as he holds his head.³
• After the video appeared online, an estimated 200 protesters demonstrated outside the Rochdale Police Station, with some reportedly setting off fireworks.²
• A total of four men were arrested on charges including suspicion of assault, assault on an emergency worker, and public fighting.³

Sources: ¹CTVNews, ²Independent and ³New York Post.

Narratives

• Left narrative, as provided by Guardian. As public trust in British police falls to record lows, it appears officers have decided to double down on their use of excessive force. This was clearly racially motivated as well, which is why the police trotted out one of their few officials of the same race as the victims to speak on the department's behalf. All people deserve to be protected by police, not treated like second-class citizens.
• Right narrative, as provided by YouTube. In recent times, the police have not done their job of fighting crime, including running away from violent riots in Leeds last week. The officers involved in this incident, who were a special kind of armed police in charge of protecting against terrorism, acted quickly and forcefully after a violent group broke another officer's nose.