by It was a volatile situation that called for calm heads – and a few seconds of video tape was at the heart of the story.
In the footage, which has now been seen millions of times, an armed police officer appeared to kick a man in the head, in the Terminal 2 car park at Manchester Airport.
What made the officer behave like that? And what did he say about our city – and our society?
READ MORE: Manchester Airport footage: the unanswered questions
These big and worrying questions hung over the images from the beginning. And they wanted an answer – fast.
On Saturday, we decided to publish a 39-second video – a video that has gone some way to filling in gaps in a dramatic event that, at times, has threatened to explode into serious unrest.
This new video, obtained exclusively by the FIR, shows some of what happened in the crucial seconds before the scenes that cause concern and anger.
The new footage appears to show violence between two men, a male police officer and two female officers during an arrest at the airport.
In the footage, the two men involved appear to throw several punches, with a female officer knocked to the ground and punched in the face.
Like everything related to this episode, this film required careful handling. But it was our duty to make sure it was out there. And here, in today’s newsletter, we explain why.
In the last few days there have been events that concern everyone who values unity and harmony in our city. In the city centre, after the video of the alleged stamping went viral, protesters blocked tram lines and roads outside Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham’s offices.
Over in Rochdale – where the man who appeared to be kicked in the video lives – hundreds of people gathered outside a police station.
As tensions escalated, outside agitators tried to capitalize on the fallout on social media.
Among all this, one thing is missing. The full story of what happened. And our reporters are trying to put that together from scratch.
“One of the big questions was what happened before,” explains Men’s executive editor Amanda Crook, referring to the alleged kick shown in the first video.
“We are more aware than anyone that footage can be misleading by omission.
“A lot of people had a different opinion when they saw the initial footage,” explained Amanda. “It wasn’t about correcting that – it was about being able to provide the most complete picture.”
As tensions rose last week, conversations with Greater Manchester Police hinted that there could be more to the incident.
Critically, Andy Burnham – whose role involves oversight of GMP – said what happened at the airport was not a ‘clear case’, having seen the full footage before the incident.
We were the first publication to publish the first 30-second video clip of the incident – all that was available at the time – last Tuesday.
Then, on Thursday, we became aware that there was CCTV which showed a more complete picture. By the next day, we were able to understand in detail what this other clip showed and was given a report, confirmed by a reliable source.
Then, on Saturday, we exclusively got this crucial new footage. Along with the news desk, FEAR journalists John Scheerhout and Ashlie Blakey worked to make it a reality.
“All of our priorities were that we didn’t obstruct any court proceedings that had already started or might happen,” said Amanda. “(But) especially with the drop of the first footage, it was really important that we try to show as much as possible.”
Our team sat down with legal advisors to work out if and how it would be published.
“We decided to go ahead because we felt that what he showed was too important to ignore and was being shared so widely,” said Amanda. “We felt that the footage we initially shared was a very incomplete picture.
“We knew this wasn’t going away. People were still angry and worried.”
A key consideration was protecting the identity of the individuals featured in the footage, some of whom were reportedly threatened. As a result, we decided to blur their faces.
“We took the responsibility for this seriously,” explained Amanda. “We had a lot of discussions about what is the right thing to do with this.
“It was always our intention to publish, as far as we could safely. While we feel this is a very important feature, we still don’t have the full picture. We don’t have the audio and we know from the police that there were two other incidents which they have appealed.”
“We are also very proud that members of our community came to us with this,” said Amanda.
“It shows that they trust us with this and we think that’s because we tried to handle it carefully.
“Throughout this time, our reporters and photographers have been extremely professional. It is not easy to report on a division in your own community but, as always, they handled themselves brilliantly and we are very proud of them.”
When the film was published on Saturday evening, every national newspaper and broadcaster in the country followed us in showing it. Publishing it was part of our duty to keep our readers informed by providing fair and balanced reporting and working to ensure peace among our community.
The work of a journalist can involve complex ethical issues. Each of these must be balanced with your right, as members of a free democratic society, to know.
We couldn’t hide the first video. And we could not hide the latter. The issues involved are far too important.
Although the emergence of the second video provided a clearer picture of what happened last week, questions remain regarding the actions of the officer involved. The Independent Office for Policing has said the police constable is under criminal investigation for assault but has said it does not necessarily mean criminal charges will be brought.
What the emergence of the new film demonstrates is the need to establish the whole picture before jumping to conclusions. That sentiment is echoed by Andy Burnham, who said lessons can be learned from “judging” what is seen from a clip shared on social media.
That tension was felt within the GMP itself. The Man has learned that the armed police stationed at the airport were furious in the days after the first footage was published about their treatment of their suspended colleague and openly discussed giving up their weapons as part of a protest, before they were persuaded not to do it. managers.
Over the weekend, GMP also launched an appeal for information about three incidents which are said to have occurred before the moment the man was apparently kicked in the head. Meanwhile, Akhmed Yakoob, the Birmingham-based solicitor representing the family involved in the incident, has announced that he is ‘stepping aside’.
This has been one of those weeks that will inspire soul-searching across the city – and beyond. The film may have been a new movie, but the flaws it exposed – about justice, reasonable force, and whether communities feel they can trust officers to police them fairly and without prejudice – are not.
