Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad allegedly struck out after armed police were called to respond to an incident at Manchester Airport’s Starbucks in July 2024
Jury shown CCTV of alleged assault on police at Manchester Airport
CCTV footage of brothers allegedly throwing a “flurry of punches” at armed police during an incident at Manchester Airport was shown to jurors in court.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, are said to have struck out after police were called to respond to an incident at the Starbucks cafe in Terminal 2 arrivals on July 23 last year, when Amaaz is alleged to have headbutted a customer. Minutes later, three officers – Pc Zachary Marsden and Pc Ellie Cook, who were both armed, and unarmed Pc Lydia Ward – approached the defendants at the pay station in T2’s car park.
Amaaz, 20, and Amaad, 26, both of Tarnside Close in Rochdale, deny the charges they face and say they acted in self-defence. On Monday, a jury at Liverpool Crown Court watched airport camera footage from opposite angles which captured what the Crown says was a “high level of violence” used by the defendants towards the officers.
The prosecution say Amaaz resisted as police tried to move him away from a payment machine to arrest him, and then Amaad intervened. Junior counsel Adam Birkby suggested Amaaz threw 10 punches, which included one to the face of Pc Ward that knocked her to the floor, and that Amaad aimed six punches at firearms officer Pc Marsden.
Amaaz is also said to have kicked Pc Marsden and twice struck firearms officer Pc Cook with his elbow. He is said to have punched Pc Marsden from behind and then had hold of him before Pc Cook discharged her Taser device. Amaaz had his arm around Pc Marsden’s neck as both fell to the floor, Mr Birkby said, before the officer got to his feet.
Mr Birkby went on: “Mr Amaaz, while prone, lifts his head towards the officers. Pc Marsden kicks Mr Amaaz around the head area. Pc Marsden stamps his foot towards the crown of Mr Amaaz’s head area but doesn’t appear to connect with Mr Amaaz.”
Footage from the body-worn cameras of the three officers was also played to the jury. The officers could be heard screaming at the defendants to “get down now”, Manchester Evening News reports.
Footage from one of the officers who arrived at the scene later, Pc Flanagan, and played for the jury captured the officer shouting at Amaad while he was laying on the floor.
He was heard shouting: “You f***ing move I’ll smash your face in, do you understand?” He said “you f***ing piece of s**t” as he lifted Amaad from the floor.
Giving evidence in court, Pc Marsden said he is an authorised firearms officer with GMP. He confirmed he had been an office for five-and-a-half years at the time of the incident.
Pc Marsden confirmed that on the day he was working as usual at Manchester Airport as part of his normal team, carrying handcuffs, a baton, incapacitant spray, a Taser stun gun, and a Glock 17 semi-automatic pistol. He said officers were called to Starbucks at 8.20pm on the day of the incident over reports of “two Asian males fighting” in T2.
He said he was told one Asian male was in black and another Asian male was in a blue tracksuit. He responded to the “grade 1” emergency and went to Starbucks and saw an Asian male in black who he said told him “there had been a disagreement on the plane with an elderly Asian female.” The officer said the complainant told him the argument had “spilled into the baggage reclaim hall.”
The Asian male said he had been headbutted by the young man in blue and had run off towards the car park, according to Pc Marsden. Pc Marsden said “we needed to locate where this suspect was” and arrest him on suspicion of assault.
Pc Marsden said he planned to arrest the man on suspicion of assault. Asked if he thought an arrest was necessary, Pc Marsden said: “I believe we need to prevent his disappearance and prevent further harm to the victim and to allow a prompt investigation and further enquiry.” The officer said that he, along with PCs Cook and Ward, walked towards T2 car park to find the suspect.
Before they arrived at the pay station, Pc Marsden said his control room “shouted up with more information” that the Asian suspect was wearing blue shorts. The control room confirmed the suspect had been seen walking towards T2 car park.
Pc Marsden said he and his colleagues had been discussing what to do “should we have a positive arrest.” The officer said it was agreed that he would be the arresting officer, while Pc Ward would take the prisoner in a van. Pc Marsden said he turned his body cam “on standby” as he approached the exit of T2 so it was “primed to record should I need to capture any evidence.”
The camera came on automatically after he activated his Taser later during the incident, the officer confirmed. Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of Pc Cook and the earlier assault of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at Starbucks. Amaad, 26, is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both men deny the allegations.
