A man from Rochdale has been found guilty of assaulting a man and two female police officers during an incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday 23 July 2024.
Following a four-week trial at Liverpool Crown Court, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (20) has been convicted of common assault and two counts of actual bodily harm.
Over the course of the trial, extensive footage was shared with the court. This showed Amaaz headbutt a member of the public in an airport café. The attack took place in a largely public area, and in front of young children, accompanying both parties. Despite claims made to the contrary, our investigation found no evidence of any prior threatening or unacceptable behaviour by the victim aimed towards Amaaz or his family.
As three responding GMP officers – one male and two female – undertook their lawful duty to detain Amaaz for assault at the Terminal 2 car park pay station, they suffered injuries such as concussion, a broken nose, and bruising and swelling. CCTV played to the jury captured Amaaz throwing 10 punches, two ‘elbow strikes’ and one kick in a prolonged and violent attack.
A jury convicted Amaaz of assaults on the two female officers. He and his fellow defendant claimed they acted in self-defence against the male police officer, which the jury could not make a decision on. We will be working with the Crown Prosecution Service in support of a re-trial for these counts.
An investigation, led by a team from the Serious Crime Division, was launched, with officers working diligently and expediently through all the moving footage including CCTV and body worn camera recordings, complemented by the testimonies of witnesses. Officers were able to track the movements from the passengers, including the first victim and his family, entering the airport after disembarking the plane, through to the violence in both the airport terminal, and the car park pay station.
This allowed a clear, and accurate picture of the facts of the events to be placed before the jury, who have today determined the actions of Amaaz against the two female officers and a member of the public to be criminal.
Chief Constable of Greater Manchester Police, Sir Stephen Watson said: “While disappointed that the prosecution case was not fully endorsed, I welcome the findings of the jury in respect of the convicted offender, whose appalling conduct has now been exposed to legitimate public scrutiny.
“I am grateful to the prosecution team, and to those investigating officers from GMP who have worked hard to assist the court in enabling justice to be done in respect of those counts where a verdict was reached.
“GMP is actively supportive of a retrial in respect of the two counts where a verdict was not achieved. We remain fully committed to providing the prosecution team with every assistance needed to reach an outcome on these matters.
“Our officers first approached the man now convicted in order to make an arrest following the unprovoked assault on an innocent man in the presence of his wife and children. They were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public.
“Whilst assaults on police officers are sadly not uncommon – 44 of my officers are assaulted every week across GM – such attacks can never be justified. Our officers are decent people who routinely place themselves in harm’s way to protect the public. They deserve our respect and support.
“I am particularly grateful to those many members of the public who have contacted the force in order to pass on their best wishes to the officers affected.”