A lawyer representing two brothers alleging police brutality has “stepped aside” from representing them right after additional footage of the incident was released showing the brothers attacking police.
Akhmed Yakoob, an attorney with a large TikTok following, was representing brothers Mohammed Fahir Khan, 19, and Amaad Khan, 25, after footage from the Manchester Airport showed a police officer stomping on Fahir’s head while he was lying face down on the floor. The police officer seen in the footage has since been “removed from operational duties,” Sky News reported.
Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry of the Greater Manchester Police (GMP) made the announcement following the incident.
“We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about,” he said. “The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.”
The incident occurred on July 23, when officers received a report of an assault in Terminal 2.
“The alleged suspect was seen on CCTV at a ticket machine in the car park and officers attended the location to arrest him,” Chaudhry said of the incident.
Police said at the time that three officers were assaulted, with a female officer suffering a broken nose and other officers receiving injuries that required hospital treatment.
In a statement at the time, the GMP said, “As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them.” The department also acknowledged “the concerns of the conduct within the video.”
Days after the initial footage was released, footage from another camera and from earlier during the event showed the two brothers attacking police officers, the Independent reported. The footage shows multiple people standing around a ticket machine as police approach. The officers attempt to arrest a man wearing a light blue shirt and shorts. A second man, wearing a black T-shirt, starts to attack a police officer before the other man starts to punch another officer. The men repeatedly punch the officers until the man in the black T-shirt is tased by a male police officer. The man in the blue shirt knocks down the other two officers and punches the male officer in the back of the head. This officer then wrestles the man to the ground, and he is tased by one of the female officers.
This is when the male officer gets back up and kicks one of the men in the head.
The original footage, which only showed the police officer kicking Fahir in the head, led to massive protests calling the GMP racist.
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham has since urged people “not to rush to judgment” after the second video was released.
“Following incidents in the run-up to the footage people have seen, four individuals were arrested and are now on police bail. It is frustrating that we have not been able to put more video into the public domain but that is because this is a live investigation,” he said, according to the Independent.
After the second video was released, Yakoob, the attorney for the brothers, released a video saying he was “stepping aside” from representing the brothers but has recommended a new lawyer for them.
“The media have tried to sabotage me, it’s not the first time they’ve done this,” he said without presenting evidence. “They’ve made this whole situation about me and not police misconduct,” The Guardian reported.
“So, after consulting with the family, I have decided for now to step aside and I have recommended the family to a lawyer. But, I will be keeping a close eye on this,” he added. “I’d like to say that I am not for violence, whether it’s from police officers or whether it’s from civilians. Always remember that.”
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