Andy Burnham says ‘two sides’ to Manchester Airport GMP incident as new footage emerges

32 comments

1. Thats the problem with phone footage, tend to only capture one side of it

   Not saying the cop was justified, but there are always 2 sides to everything

2. Hope those lads spend years in jail for attacking police officers.

   They fought the law but the law will win.

3. We have a serious problem with law and order in general and it’s only going to get worse

4. The police are not above the law . Face kicking and head stomping is excessive force in restraining a criminal.

5. I think I’m OK with armed police at an air port going too far. Shouldn’t even have a cake fine.

6. I just don’t understand why Senior Police Leaders are so virulently opposed to releasing the CCTV footage and Body Worn Video for cases like this straight away.

   Just look at how much extremely negative commentary and media spin there has been since the first video dropped. None of it would have been a fraction as bad if on day one they went ‘oh btw here’s a video of our officers being subjected to a vile attack’. Cynically the press probably just wouldn’t have put a fraction of the attention on the case as they did here, but that’s still a win.

   People are going to jump in talking about how that could jeopardise the case further down the line etc etc, but I fail to see how. There’s already been significant press reporting. Politicians are already making grand pronouncements about how concerned they are, and that they’re demanding answers. You’ve already got all the same issues, but with the story from only one side. Feels like one of those things where there’s a lot of fear about possible long shot negative outcomes, and myths taken as reality – as opposed to a truly informed decision taken based on how the judicial system actually works.

7. Yeh can everyone get out of the black and white mentality. The people attacking the police officers need to be charged. The police officer using lethal force to the head needs to be charged. This world is grey. Unfortunately the guy kicking the head should of known better after years of training and screening yet he chose to be a thug too. I’ve been on the receiving end of police where I’ve been even stripped forceably on the floor. I wasn’t complying so can’t complain. Its give and take. This officer gave the wrong sort of giving.

8. People don’t respect coppers. These thugs need the maximum sentence. Throw away the key

9. Yeah, and both sides have violent criminals on them.

10. I wonder what that guy who said racism played a significant part in the incident thinks now.

11. The side where a bunch of internet manipulators post a video edited to make the Police look bad, and the side where the Police were violently assaulted and may have assaulted back or may have responded with reasonable force (and we’ll let an investigation decide)?

12. ‘Complicated’ if you batter a police officer in the head 10 times. Society isn’t responsible for what happens to you next. You are.

13. Really disappointed in the BBC who haven’t mentioned anything. It’s been an hour since the story broke and it’s radio silence. Really does call into question how impartial they actually are.

14. To play devil’s advocate – let’s accept the initial kick and stamp as fight or flight. What about the second guy he kicks and pistol whips later on?

15. And of course all the dingbats are outside the police station shouting their d-head slogans

16. How about we agree that those who assaulted the poodle are bastards and so it the copper who kicked and stamped on a restrained person.

17. They are lucky this happened in the U.K. if they attacked police like that in almost every other country in the world they would have been shot.

18. Come on. He did punch the police officer but at the moment the man got kicked in the head he was incapacitated. Is that reasonable force at that point in time?

19. When whenever I see a headline of this guy making comments, do I ask myself, Why is a succesful comedian commenting on the news? (Bo Burnham)

20. doesn’t matter, damage is done, lo and behold bbc helped stoke the flames, you think the people, whose parents are cousins, in rochdale are gonna care about a notion thats theres ”two sides” to this situation at this stage?

21. So the man who got a boot in the head went straight to violently assaulting two female police officers and assaulting and trying to grab a gun from a third officer.

22. This whole thing is a mess. The vast, vast majority of the blame lies with the cunt who assaulted several police officers (I believe he broke one woman’s nose?). The officer who kicked the culprit when he was already down should not have done that but I understand why he did given the events in the minute up until then.

    Two things can be true at once – the police acted with inappropriate force and the guy on the receiving end of that force was just as violent, if not more so.

23. The Muslim community who protested outside the Rochdale police station, and all those Reddit commentators who called the people who asked for more context “racists”.

    You guys owe a big fat apology. Hang your head in shame.

    Edit: I can see comments below of keyboard warriors trying to ignore footage and still pull “but teh police are the REAL evil” bullshit.

24. Professional cage fighters who are at the top of their game and train constantly take hits to the face then under the confusion of the blow attack the ref.

    Professional fighters.

    Full time. Trained. Masters of their craft.

    But a police officer must never ever get confused ever. Even after being punched 8 times to the head and throw on the floor.

25. My issue here is that yes those two are thugs and scum, they committed assault on those police officers.

    However the punishment for assault isn’t getting your head kicked in, its jail time.

    He was already restrained when that cop put the boot in, that’s the problem…

26. https://www.cps.gov.uk/legal-guidance/self-defence-and-prevention-crime – still think the cop is on thin ice in all honesty; but blue shirt guy is 100% on (or should be as I believe they’ve been let off?) an assault charge from the CCTV, and the cop may have a degree of mitigation if they can argue reasonable force potentially in the circumstances? CCTV suggests he’s got hit around 10 times and blue shirt has cheapshotted all 3 cops in about a 10 second period, and within the following 10 seconds is getting kerb stomped by one of the Officers? Do I think the cop probably ends up on an assault charge, most likely but this CCTV does provide some degree or mitigation in my view (even if very very slight). The CCTV also 100% incriminates blue shirt guy.

27. They tried to take the police officers gun. They’re lucky.to be alive

28. well well well, this is why judgement should always be saved for the full context rather than something obviously clipped.

29. I don’t understand why this wasn’t released before? Why keep it hidden?

30. There’s not two sides to it. The perpetrators were wrong for committing such violence against police officers (or, indeed, anyone of course) and the police officer was wrong for kicking and stamping on the head of the tasered perpetrator on the floor, even if we can relate to, understand and empathise with their feelings in the moment.

31. Here come the justifications.

    I am pretty fed up with the current police service. They rarely investigate crimes that affect non wealthy people. They are full of “bad apples” and then when one is caught in an act of thuggery, agents of the state start making excuses for them.

    The police do not exist to assist the average citizen of the UK in their current form, for whatever reason, and I just don’t understand why anyone would defend this behaviour. Educators, NHS staff, Civil Service employees, are all held to a higher standard than the police and it’s shocking that some people defend this kind of violence.

    Eapecially if the average citizen was in a similar situation without a stab vest and a pistol and pepper spray and a baton and a tazer and did the same thing they would be arrested.

32. It is possible for no one to be the hero in a news story, people should remember that.