Opinions on Manchester Airport assault verdict and its implications for policing

[Wizeman]

Two brothers found not guilty of assaulting police officers at Manchester Airport. So two lads allegedly attack armed police, break one officer’s nose, after officers moved to arrest them following earlier aggressive behaviour toward members of the public at the airport — and they’re found not guilty. Any opinions on this? How are police meant to do there job when the justice system let's them down every time? They literally broke an officers nose. Armed police not to mention in a blooming airport, great place to attack them and no consequences. Fuming

Seems to me like it should be scumbag PC Marsden on trial, not these brothers who are the victims of racist abuse. Did he learn nothing at police school about not kicking and stamping his foot on the head of a person after they're already tasered and on the floor. Clearly the juries that have seen all the evidence know a bit better than the racist jury of Mumsnet.

If you listen to the statement instead of taking your facts off social media, you'll see that they're a law abiding family who have never been in trouble with the law before. This case is the definition of police brutality and PC Marsden should be struck off before he kills an innocent person.

Fuck me! Delusional if you think any of their actions are those of a law abiding family.

i think that in cases like this, and the rapist boys, there needs to be a full and clear report written by the courts about why such outcomes happen.

ETA: because i live in a country with no trial by jury, i checked what happens.

Here we have a system of "lay judges" (you volunteer and go through a selection process then go on a list to be called in the way a jury is called). Judges, including the lay judges, are inquisitorial (as the investigating magistrates are in France, for eg) and the lay judges have an equal say in establishing guilt and sentencing.

The World Justice Project ranks countries by how fair/corrupt the judiciaries are in 142 countries. The top ranked countries for 2025 include Denmark, Sweden, Germany and Norway (I am in one of those). UK ranks 15 and has declined by 1% over the last few years.

Trial without jury, if properly done, can be fine. 5 of the top 20 use jury trials. (they are ranked 6, 9, 11, 12 and 15.

i haven't read much about this case. Is there a separate action against the officer doing the stamping? Because if things were to be watertight, there should be some action about that too (and not an internal "he was in fear of his life" rubber stamp exercise)

Also the mother, a grown woman with adult children, should have reported the racist abuse to the flight crew.

The optics are not good.

The police should be able to stop and arrest people without being attacked.

They are the thin blue line.

According to the BBC report there's an investigation by the IOPC into the use of force by GMP officers. (Note the plural).

After watching the footage the only scumbags are the brothers, especially the one who punches the female officers. You can still be resisting arrest and remaining non compliant even on the floor. At ‘Police School’ any use of force can be used if justified, and I’m sure he will explain his actions when investigated. Personally I think PC Marsden deserves a medal.

Is there any evidence that they were subjected to racist abuse prior to the attack?

Of course their solicitor would say that they’d never ever been in trouble before.

Agreed, those police officers were dealing with two violent and out of control thugs who were kicking off at an airport. I hope the investigation clears them of any wrong doing.

if they are cleared of wrong-doing, which they very well may be, then what you are saying is that a suspect, who has been tazered, who is lying on the floor is fair game to have his head stomped on?

Is that the policing you want? it's not the policing i want.

I want people who commit violent acts to be up in court to be punished if found guilty (at least one person was).
I also want police overreach and unnecessary violence to be investigated and appropriately punished if found to be true.

Those two things can exist at the same time.

Deserves a medal for stamping someone in the face? This is not something our UK police should be doing. It's abhorrent, no matter the circumstances.

Or, they could avoid being tasered and having a boot to the head (I’m assuming he was still actively resisting arrest) by not acting like fucking animals (that’s an insult to animals) and assaulting armed police, in an airport.

Quite frankly he’s lucky he came away with that with a boot to the head.

From the BBC article -

‘PC Marsden said he stamped his foot in a bid to clamp down on the wire of his police radio to avoid it being used as a weapon against him and did not believe he made contact with Amaaz.’

Very succinctly put. This should be the end of the discussion really but somehow don't think it will be...