Brothers Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammad Amaad used a “high level of violence” as they fought with police in Manchester Airport in July last year, a court heard
Moment Manchester Airport brawl sparked by Starbucks headbutt
This is the moment a man was allegedly headbutted in Starbucks at Manchester Airport by one of the brothers accused of assaulting police officers in a fight.
Footage of the altercation with the three officers went viral online – and now Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, are on trial for assault.
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were shown CCTV footage of the incident at Starbucks. It shows the defendants walking past the shop until their mother points Mr Ismaeil out to her sons.
Her youngest son then appears to confront Mr Ismaeil, who is with his wife and children. The footage shows him backed against the counter of the Starbucks with Amaaz close to him.
Amaaz was seen confronting and lashing out at Abdulkareem Ismaeil in front of a number of children. The 20-year-old, who is wearing a blue hooded jacket, can be seen headbutting Mr Ismaeil in the face and punching him.
The CCTV has no sound but a verbal argument appears to ensue for around 30 seconds before Amaaz suddenly delivers a headbutt to Mr Ismaeil’s face, followed by a punch to the same area with his left fist.
He then apparently tries to punch Mr Ismaeil with his right fist.
Mr Greaney told jurors the violence was entirely unlawful and delivered out of “anger” and not in self-defence.
He said Mr Ismaeil is not a witness so the jury will not hear from him. He was visiting the UK with his family and just wanted to get on with his holiday and declined to give a statement to police.
Mr Greaney added: “However, the absence of evidence from him makes it no less easy to conclude that the first defendant behaved unlawfully in Starbucks.”
Jurors were also shown graphic CCTV footage of Amaaz and Amaad brawling with police officers at the Terminal 2 car park pay station. The court heard the brothers used a “high level of violence” as they fought with police.
Violence flared as officers attempted to detain Amaaz, following the incident in Starbucks. One of the officers, PC Lydia Ward suffered a broken nose in the incident, with jurors shown video of her crying as blood streamed down her face.
The footage also showed firearms officer Zachary Marsden appearing to kick Amaaz in the face and stamp on his head.
Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, said: “We recognise those actions look rather shocking in the cold light of day, but we suggest they need to be judged in the context of the very serious level of threat posed by the defendants to an officer who was concerned that his firearm might be taken from him at an airport.
“In any event, those actions all occurred after the violence of the defendants. The position of the prosecution is that they are logically irrelevant to the lawfulness of the conduct of Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and Muhammed Amaad as charged in the indictment.”
Liverpool crown court heard police were called following the incident at the Starbucks cafe on July 23 last year.
Mr Greaney KC said officers, PC Marsden and PC Ellie Cook, who were both armed, and PC Ward, were already in the airport and traced them at the terminal’s car park payment area.
He said: “The officers attempted to move Mohammed Fahir Amaaz away from a payment machine in order to arrest him, but he resisted, and his brother Muhammad Amaad intervened.
“Both defendants assaulted PC Marsden. In the moments that followed, the first defendant also assaulted Pc Cook and then Pc Ward too, breaking her nose. The defendants used a high level of violence.”
In the footage the brothers can be seen kicking out at and punching the officers. When PC Marsden took out his Taser, Muhammed Amaad’s “demeanour changed” and he sat down with his hands on his head.
Mr Greaney said Amaaz was throwing punches towards the two female officers.
He said: “He threw a left hook that struck PC Cook as she was attempting to prevent Muhammed Amaad from assaulting PC Marsden. This was followed by another punch to PC Cook’s head, knocking her hat off.”
Amaaz then punched PC Ward “hard to the face with his left hand”. “She dropped to the floor immediately. In footage we will see in a moment, blood can be seen streaming from her nose as she cries and is comforted by PC Cook and another officer,” he said.
Mr Greaney said he then returned to PC Cook throwing punches as she fell over a baggage trolley. He said Amaaz then threw a “powerful left hook” that connected with the left side of his head.
PC Cook then deployed her Taser on Amaaz causing him to fall to the ground. He was still holding PC Marsden round the neck as he fell, dragging the officer to the floor with him.
Amaaz is accused of assaulting PC Marsden and PC Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of PC Cook and the earlier assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil at Starbucks.
Amaad is alleged to have assaulted PC Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations.
Mr Greaney said the defendants had travelled to the airport with their young nephew to collect their mother who was due to arrive back on a flight from Qatar.
He said: “A man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil was on the same flight as the defendants’ mother. He was travelling with his wife and three young children.
“It is clear that on the flight and/or shortly after it landed, something happened between the defendants’ mother and Abdulkareem Ismaeil that made the defendants’ mother unhappy.
“The defendants met their mother in the arrivals area of Terminal 2 and began to walk to the car park with her and the child that was with them. As they did so, they passed a Starbucks coffee house.
“Abdulkareem Ismaeil was in there with his wife and children. The defendants’ mother spotted Abdulkareem Ismaeil and pointed him out to her sons.
“At just after 8.20pm, the defendants entered Starbucks and confronted Abdulkareem Ismaeil. During that confrontation, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz delivered a headbutt to the face of Abdulkareem Ismaeil and punched him, then attempted to deliver other blows, all in front of a number of children.
“The prosecution case is that this was obviously unlawful conduct.”
Mr Greaney told jurors the prosecution’s position was this was “not a complicated case”.
He said: “The events you are concerned with were captured by CCTV cameras and, in relation to the events in the payment area on the body-worn cameras of police officers as well.
“So you will not have to depend only on the recollections of witnesses. You will also be able to see with your own eyes what happened. The two defendants assert, as we understand it, that at all stages they were acting in lawful self-defence or in defence of the other.
“Our prediction is that you will readily conclude that the defendants were not acting in lawful self-defence and that their conduct was unlawful.”
The trial is expected to last up to four weeks.