Man who brawled with cops in Manchester Airport guilty of assault after chaos sparked nationwide protests

A man who brawled with cops, including punching a female officer in the face and breaking her nose at an airport has learned his fate.

A man who brawled with police at a major UK airport - including punching a female officer in the face and breaking her nose - has learned his fate.

In July last year, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, were involved in an altercation with a passenger before shocking footage showed them brawling with cops at Manchester Airport, in England’s north-west.

Body-worn footage was shown to a jury at Liverpool Crown Court earlier this month that showed PC Lydia Wardfemale in the moments after the brawl.

She was in tears, with her face was covered in blood, as colleagues tried to tend to her injuries. The distressed cop had her nose broken following a punch to the face.

Now, 20-year-old Amaaz has been found guilty of assaulting Ms Ward and her colleague PC Ellie Cook, as well as the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil - a passenger he headbutted and punched at Starbucks.

At the time, the brothers sparked nationwide protests after accusing the officers of attacking them.

Two of the officers were also probed by the independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) and faced criminal charges.

But during their trial, it was alleged the brothers had actually lashed out at police when they were called to deal with the altercation at Starbucks.

When PC Zachary Marsden, PC Ellie Cook and PC Lydia Ward approached the brothers in the car park of Terminal 2, Amaaz and Amaad were accused of displaying a “high level of violence”.

Footage played to jurors shows the brothers brawling with police.

Amaaz and his brother were also accused of assaulting PC Marsden occasioning actual bodily harm but jurors could not reach a verdict on that count, The Sun reports.

The Crown Prosecution Service confirmed they will be seeking a retrial on that charge.

Footage showed Amaaz resisting arrest as the officers tried to move him away from a payment machine to cuff him.

One of the officers Amaaz attacked was left with a broken nose.

PC Ward copped 10 punches including one to her face that sent her crashing to the ground. The shocking footage shows blood pouring from her nose. Amaaz also twice struck firearms officer PC Cook with his elbow.

Both Amaaz and PC Marsden then fell to the ground before the officer got up and appeared to “stamp” his foot towards Amaaz’s head, Liverpool Crown Court in the UK heard.

But jurors were told the police “doesn’t appear to connect with Mr Amaaz”.

As the brawl continued, the police officers got their Tasers out before managing to handcuff the brothers with the help of other cops.

At one point, PC Ward could be seen appearing to cry as she holds her nose.

As police came to arrest them, Amaaz allegedly lashed out at cops.

PC Marsden stamped his foot towards Amaaz’s head but did not make contact.

Jurors heard PC Marsden suffered “post-concussion syndrome” and was left with a “severe headache” for three days, dizziness, forgetfulness and bruising and swelling.

PC Ward was left with a broken nose and needed surgery under general anaesthetic, it was said.

The court heard previously that the brothers had gone to meet their mum at the airport on July 23 last year.

She had been involved in some sort of incident with Abdulkareem either on their flight or shortly after it.

The brothers were eventually restrained.

As the brothers passed by Starbucks, the mum pointed out Abdulkareem to her sons as he sat with his wife and children in the cafe.

Amaaz entered the cafe and headbutted the dad before punching him a number of times.

Protests were held across Rochdale and Manchester after the footage emerged last summer.

Video showed one of the brothers headbutting a passenger before the brawl.

The brothers later said they were threatened by an officer and thrown to the ground.

Their claims saw Greater Manchester Police plunged into crisis as video showed PC Marsden allegedly kicking Amaaz.

They initially hired TikTok solicitor Akhmed Yakoob to represent them but he quit when new footage was released revealing the police had been attacked.

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (L) and Muhammad Amaad (R) arrive at Liverpool Crown Court for the their trial on July 28, 2022. Picture: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Amaaz kept up his narrative of being the victim during the trial – claiming he feared he would be “killed” by PC Marsden during the chaos.

He added: “It’s not like it hasn’t happened before when police officers have abused their powers and people have died.”

Amaaz denied assaulting PC Marsden and PC Ward, causing them actual bodily harm.

He was also accused of the assault of PC Cook and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at Starbucks.

During their trial, it was alleged the brothers had actually lashed out at police when they were called to deal with an earlier altercation. Picture: Ryan Jenkinson/Getty Images

Amaad pleaded not guilty to assaulting PC Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.

The chairman of the Greater Manchester Police Federation, Mike Peake, said: “Police officers in Manchester work in a difficult, dangerous, and dynamic world where there is no such thing as a routine incident. They deserve support in that work from the public and politicians.

“The distressing scenes we have seen during this trial show some of the worst side of police work that our officers are faced with. 35 officers are assaulted in Greater Manchester Police every week. We are bloodied and we are bruised.

“We have been supporting the officers concerned in the incident at Manchester Airport last summer since it occurred. And as a Federation we will continue to do so.

“We will not be commenting further at this time.”

Amaaz will be sentenced at a later date.