One of two brothers accused of assaulting an armed police officer at Manchester Airport had earlier headbutted a man inside a Starbucks, a court has heard.
Violent Clash at Manchester Airport Terminal 2
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, and his older brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, from Rochdale, deny assaulting PC Zachary Marsden at a car park pay-station on 23 July 2024. Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were told the violent attack on PC Marsden and two other officers followed an earlier incident at a Starbucks coffee shop in the terminal. The brothers confronted a man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil after an argument upset their mother, who they were there to pick up after her flight from Pakistan.
“Amaaz was the aggressor,” witnesses said. “He caught the man off guard and made him stumble backwards with a headbutt before punching him.”
Assault on Armed Police: 12 Blows in 30 Seconds
Prosecutor Paul Greaney KC told the court that Ismaeil was cornered and outnumbered before Amaaz attacked him. Amaaz was convicted of assaulting Ismaeil in a separate trial last year. Following the Starbucks melee, armed officers, including PC Marsden and PC Ellie Cook, were called to the terminal. When attempting to arrest Amaaz at the car park pay station, he resisted violently, with his brother stepping in to assist. Greaney detailed the ferocity of the fight: Amaaz delivered 12 blows in just 30 seconds, breaking PC Lydia Ward’s nose and injuring the other officers. Police body-cam footage played for the jury showed the chaotic struggle, ending with Amaaz being subdued by a stun gun.
Police Response Under Fire
The footage also revealed PC Marsden kicking Amaaz in the head and delivering a stamping motion. Greaney acknowledged these actions looked “shocking,” but insisted they must be seen in light of the “very serious level of threat” posed to an armed officer at an international airport.
“We suggest the brothers acted offensively and inflicted a high level of violence,” the prosecutor told the jury. “They will claim self-defence, but their actions prove otherwise.”
Trial Ongoing
The jury must decide whether Amaaz caused actual bodily harm to PC Marsden and if Amaad took part in that assault. Amaaz was previously convicted of assaulting PCs Ward and Cook in another trial last year. The trial continues.
