Airport police brawl followed headbutt in Starbucks, jury hears
ONE OF TWO ACCUSED BROTHERS ‘ASSAULTED MEMBER OF PUBLIC’
ONE of two brothers accused of attacking armed police in an angry confrontation at Manchester Airport was captured on CCTV headbutting a member of the public moments before the bust-up with the cops
Violence erupted when the brothers were confronted by police at the Terminal 2 arrivals pay station car park on July 23 last year. They were called after one of the brothers, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, allegedly headbutted a member of the public, Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil minutes earlier.
The headbutt was alleged to have occurred in Starbucks inside the terminal building after the brothers had picked up their mother from a flight.
On the first day of the trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the jury of eight men and four women were shown CCTV footage of the earlier incident inside the terminal building which showed Amaaz launching a headbutt at Mr Ismaeil, who was with his partner and children, before then throwing two punches, one with his left and then with his right hand.
Moments later Amaaz is then alleged to have assaulted armed police officers who came to arrest him at the car park pay station. Police body-cam footage showed one female officer, Pc Lydia Ward, sobbing with her mouth filled with blood after she suffered a broken nose in the alleged attack at the pay station.
CCTV played in court also captured one of the armed officers appearing to stamp on Amaaz after he had been floored by a Taser stun gun.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, both of Tarnside Close in Rochdale, deny the charges they face and say they acted in selfdefence.
Amaaz is charged with assaulting a member of the public, Abdulkareem Hamzah Abbas Ismaeil, by beating him on July 23, 2024, at Manchester Airport. He faces a second charge that he assaulted Pc Zachary Marsden causing actual bodily harm on the same date, also at Manchester Airport.
A third charge alleges he assaulted
Pc Lydia Ward causing actual bodily harm on the same date at the airport. A fourth charge against him alleges he assaulted, by beating, an emergency worker, Pc Ellie Cook. Co-defendant Amaad, his brother, faces a single charge, namely that he also assaulted Pc Zachary Marsden at Manchester Airport on July 23. Opening the case for the Crown yesterday at Liverpool Crown Court, Paul Greaney KC said: “The position of the prosecution is that the defendants cannot logically justify their violence by reference to what occurred after they had used it,” said the KC. The jurors were told that the defendants claim they were acting in self-defence ‘or in the defence of each other.’ Starbucks duty manager Cameron Cartledge said he saw Amaaz, wearing a blue tracksuit, headbutt Mr Ismaeil in the face. Starbucks barista Justine Pakalne, also said she a man in the blue tracksuit being aggressive and headbutting the other man
● Proceeding
The defendants cannot justify their violence by reference to what occurred after they had used it