Andy Burnham says footage of officer kicking man in Manchester Airport 'not clear-cut situation'
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham speaking to ITV Granada
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham said he has seen the full footage leading up to an incident where a police officer kicks a man as he lays on the floor and that it was "not a clear-cut situation".
Footage of the incident at Terminal 2 at Manchester Airport on Tuesday night has provoked widespread outrage after it was posted on social media, but Mr Burnham said: "there were other events leading up to it.
"It was quite a violent and complicated situation, and it is not for any of us to rush to judgement and say they know everything, on the back of something on social media".
The 44 second long video shows an officer kicking and stamping on the head of a man, in prone position, and also appears to show the officer assaulting another man.
Greater Manchester Police (GMP) the confrontation began after three officers were injured in a "violent assault," including one female officer who suffered a broken nose.
But the force added that what was seen in the videos was "truly shocking" and it had voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), which has confirmed it has launched an investigation.
One police officer has been suspended.
GMP said it understands the "immense feeling of concern and worry that people feel" after the footage emerged.
An estimated 200 people gathered outside Rochdale Police Station on Wednesday night with some shouting "GMP shame on you!".
Police said the protest ended "without incident".
Mayor of Greater Manchester Andy Burnham, who met with Home Secretary Yvette Cooper to discuss the incident on Thursday, asked for calm, saying the "right and proper steps" had been taken.
He also urged people not to use the situation for "political purposes".
Speaking to ITV Granada, Burnham said: "It is obviously very disturbing, but in my role I have to look at the whole picture.
"The right thing to do is have a process of investigation, that is as independent as can be, that involves the community, and which is done as swiftly as possible.
"In conversations with the IOPC and the Home Secretary that is what has been set up earlier.
"I see MPs out there making all kinds of provocative and inflammatory statements, that's the way America has gone where politicians stoke up people and you get a polarised debate.
"There are real issues at stake here which is why care has to be taken rather than just following the social media clamour".
Greater Manchester Mayor Andy Burnham says people "shouldn't follow the social media clamour"
Speaking to media outside Rochdale police station on Thursday, solicitor Akhmed Yakoob said two of the men involved were members of a serving GMP officer’s family.
He said: "The family are okay but they are traumatised."
He said the condition of one of the men had worsened and said a CT scan revealed a "cyst on his brain".
He added: "The main concern for us, for me, is that the family receive justice and this no longer happens again."
The regional director of police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), Catherine Bates, promised a "thorough and robust" independent investigation into the incident and said body-worn video and CCTV footage had been secured.
After meeting with the force and Mr Burnham on Thursday, the Home Secretary welcomed the investigation and said: "I share the deep concern surrounding the video and understand the widespread distress it will have caused."
Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer also said he had seen the video and said: "I understand that concern."