The headbutt ‘that sparked Manchester Airport brawl’: Jury is shown moment ‘brother attacks man in Starbucks before pair assaulted police who came to arrest them’
This is the moment a man was allegedly headbutted in Starbucks by one of the brothers accused of assaulting police officers in a fight in Manchester Airport that went viral.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, are on trial for allegedly striking out at police and leaving one officer with a broken nose on July 23 last year.
However, the fracas started when armed officers went to arrest Amaaz, 20, for headbutting a fellow passenger in the airport arrivals area just minutes earlier.
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were today shown CCTV footage of Amaaz 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 as other family members gathered around.
Separate CCTV footage released by the Crown Prosecution Service shows Amaaz and Amaad walking through Manchester Airport with suitcases.
Paul Greaney KC told the hearing today that the two brothers had travelled to the airport to collect their mother who was due to arrive back on a flight from Qatar.
The prosecutor explained that Mr Ismaeil, who was travelling with his wife and three children, was on the same flight as the defendants’ mother.
This is the moment a man was allegedly headbutted in Starbucks by one of the brothers accused of assaulting police officers in Manchester Airport
Muhammed Amaad (left) and Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (right) at Liverpool Crown Court in February
Jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were today shown CCTV footage of Amaaz (red dot) lashing out at Abdulkareem Ismaeil in front of a number of children
He said it was ‘clear’ that something happened between the group on the flight that made Amaaz and Amaad’s 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, Mr Greaney told the court on Friday.
‘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.’
The release of the CCTV footage comes as the court heard today that the brothers used a ‘high level’ of violence during the alleged assault on the police officers.
Amaaz can be seen first headbutting Mr Ismaeil before punching him with his left fist as other family members gathered around
The duty manager at Starbucks in the terminal, Cameron Cartledge, said he called the police after seeing Amaaz, dressed in light blue, head butt Mr Ismaeil in the face.
He said: ‘It was a big head butt and looked very forceful. It looked quite powerful and had force behind it.’
He said he had heard raised voices between Amaaz and Mr Ismaeil but could not understand what was being said because he thought it was in Arabic.
‘They were arguing but I did not know what was being said because it was in another language,’ Mr Cartledge said.
‘Then the man in blue head butted the man by the counter and I called the police. The man in blue was aggressive and seemed annoyed about something.
‘The other man had a raised voice as well but seemed to be more defensive. It was over very quickly.’
He rejected a claim from Imran Khan, KC, for Amaaz that the two men had been talking in English.
Mr Cartledge said: ‘It did not sound like English to me. There may have been an odd word of English in there.’
The two brothers can be seen on CCTV travelling through the airport last July
Barister Justine Pakaline said Mr Ismaeil had been ordering drinks when he was confronted by Amaaz with his mother and brother.
She said that Amaaz looked ‘aggressive and angry’ but Mr Ismaeil was ‘calm and collected.’
Ms Pakaline said she heard the woman with Mr Ismaeil say to Amaaz’s mother: ‘We were not talking about you but the kids behind you.’
She told the jury: ‘The aggressive angry man then head butted the other man and he stumbled back into the syrups. He was shocked.’
Ms Pakaline said that she then heard Amaaz say in English, ‘Come outside and fight.’
Cross examined by Imran Khan, Ms Pakaline agreed that she had made her statement three days after the incident and after footage of the later incident in the pay station area ‘went viral.’
She told Mr Khan that it was possible that Mr Ismaeil had moved a little forward toward Amaaz before the head butt but said she did not think he was the aggressor.
She said: ‘Even if he did move a step forward, he did not lay a hand on him. It was the other way round.’
Opening the prosecution case at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday, Mr Greaney said the officers traced the brothers to the terminal’s car park payment area.
Three officers, PC Zachary Marsden and PC Ellie Cook – both armed – and PC Lydia Ward, unarmed, approached the defendants, he said.
Muhammed Amaad (left) and Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (centre) at Liverpool Crown Court in February
Mr Greaney went on: ‘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.’
The jury was played CCTV footage and body worn camera footage which showed the violent confrontation as stunned passengers looked on – many of them filming the events on mobile phones.
The film showed PC Marsden and PC Ward taking hold of Amaaz by the shoulder and the arm as he tried to pay for his parking at the machine as his brother and mother looked on.
The jury watched as the CCTV showed Amaaz reacting by lashing out at the officers and throwing punches at PC Ward, hitting her on the nose, and PC Cook before he was Tasered and forced to the floor.
PC Ward could be seen holding her bloodied nose and crying before being led away by PC Cook.
The footage also showed PC Marsden aim a kick to the head of Amaaz followed by a stamping motion as the brothers’ mother knelt beside her son on the floor.
Mr Greaney 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.’
Mr Greaney also said the prosecution accepted that a fourth officer assisting in the aftermath, PC Mark Flanagan ‘used foul language’.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammed Amaad (centre) arrive at Liverpool Magistrates’ Court on January 16 for their first hearing after the fracas at Manchester Airport Terminal 2
He was seen on body worn camera footage to shout at Muhammed Amaad: ‘If you move, I will smash your f***** face in.’
Mr Greaney told the jury they were being played the full footage because he anticipated that there would be criticism of the conduct of the officers from the defence during the trial.
He told the jury: ‘In the environment of this court room, it is difficult to get a sense of how seriously the officers perceived the threat posed by the two defendants to be.
‘However, from the footage from the body worn camera of one of the officers who attended in the aftermath, we get a real sense of how terrified the officers involved in this violence had been. We also see PC Ward’s injury.’
Mr Greaney said that the brothers claim that they were acting defensively and not offensive ‘is simply false and nothing can justify the violence toward the officers.’
The prosecutor gave the jury a detailed account of the events caught on CCTV and body worn cameras.
He said: ‘When the officers arrived Amaaz was at the payment machine. PC Marsden took hold of his left arm in order to move him away from the machine and carry out an arrest.
‘The other two officers took hold of his right arm. Amaaz resisted, so PC Marsden pushed his head down in an attempt to apply a wrist lock.
At that Muhammed Amaad intervened, pushing in between PC Marsden and PC Cook and then forcefully pushing and grabbing PC Marsden, who responded to that assault by delivering a blow to the second defendant.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz (left) and Muhammed Amaad (centre) arrive at the court in February
‘Amaad then grabbed the head or neck of PC Marsden and forcefully pushed him back and down. This enabled Mohammed Fahir Amaaz to pull his left arm away from PC Marsden’s grip.
‘Amaaz kicked PC Marsden as his brother continued to force the officer down onto the seat next to the pay station. Amaad then repeatedly punched PC Marsden, who was cornered and unable to move. He delivered blows to the officer’s head with both fists.
‘PC Marsden stood up and took out his Taser. At that, Amaad’s demeanour changed. He moved away from the officer and sat down on a seat beside the pay station with his hands on his head.
‘Amaaz having freed himself from from PC Marsden’s grip and kicking out at him, he began throwing punches towards the two female officers.
‘He threw a left hook that struck PC Cook as she was attempting to prevent Amaad from assaulting PC Marsden.
‘This was followed by another punch to PC Cook’s head, knocking her hat off. He had his mobile phone in his hand as he delivered these blows. The blows moved PC Cook away from him.
‘ He then turned his attention to PC Ward, punching her hard to the face with his left hand.
‘She dropped to the floor immediately. In footage, blood can be seen streaming from her nose as she cries and is comforted by PC Cook and another officer. Amaaz had broken her nose.
‘Having felled PC Ward, he returned his attention to PC Cook. He threw a right hook towards the officer.
‘PC Cook managed to duck that blow, but Amaaz continued to attack her, throwing another left hook, still with the mobile phone in his hand. That blow struck the officer’s head and caused her to fall over a baggage trolley.
The fracas started when armed officers went to arrest Amaaz, 20, for headbutting a fellow passenger in the airport arrivals area just minutes earlier
‘Amaaz then turned and moved towards PC Marsden, attacking him from behind as PC Marsden pointed his Taser at Amaad.
‘Amaaz lunged towards PC Marsden throwing a powerful left hook that connected with the left side of his head.
‘The attack knocked PC Marsden forward into the seats next to the pay station at which point , Amaaz grabbed the officer round the neck before throwing a flurry of punches to his head.
‘He then grabbed PC Marsden around the neck, dragging him backwards away from his brother. At this point PC Cook deployed her Taser 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. At that point PC Marsden was able to roll away from Amaaz and get to his feet.
‘Amaaz then raised and moved his head towards PC Marsden, who in response kicked Amaaz to the face and then brought his foot down towards the top of his head in what looks like a stamping motion.’
Mr Greaney said that the fight in the pay station area came after something had happened on their mother’s flight between her and another passenger called Abdulkareem Ismaeil.
She pointed out Mr Ismaeil to the brothers as they passed a Starbucks cafe and the two men went into to confront him.
The jury was shown CCTV footage of Amaaz head butting Mr Ismaeil and launching a number of blows toward him before being separated and walking away toward the pay station.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, denies one charge of assault by beating, two charges of assault causing actual bodily harm and one charge of assault by beating of a police officer acting as an emergency worker.
His elder brother Muhammed Amaad,26, is accused of one charge of assault causing actual bodily harm.
Amaaz is alleged to have head butted plane passenger Abdulkareem Ismaeil in the Starbucks coffee shop at Terminal Two and then assaulted police constables Marsden and Ward in the pay station area of the terminal.
He is then said to have assaulted police constable Ellie Cook when she was acting as an emergency worker.
Amaad is alleged to have taken part in the attack on PC Marsden.
The trial continues.
