E-Paper
Cop punched in face during Manchester airport brawl says she was ‘absolutely terrified’
During the confrontation, PC Ward told the court that she received a “really forceful” blow to her face and remembers "falling on the floor".
A police officer whose nose was broken during a physical confrontation with two men at Manchester Airport last year has told court that she was “absolutely terrified”, reported BBC.
The cop, Lydia Ward, suffered a punch to her face as she, along with other police officers, tried to get hold of an assault suspect at the airport on July 23, 2024. She was thrown to the floor due to the forceful punch, shows video of the incident making rounds on social media. The incident happened at the airport’s Terminal 2 car park pay station area.
The accused are identified as Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26.
Also read: US top cop's daughter files lawsuit accusing him of ‘ritualistic’ abuse, sexual assault
The police told the court that PC Ward and her two colleagues had approached Amaaz after receiving reports that a man, who fit his description, had headbutted someone at a Starbucks in the airport’s terminal 2. However, as the police approached him, Amazon resisted and his brother, Amaad also allegedly intervened and inflicted a "high level of violence" on the officers.
What PC Ward told the court
During the confrontation, PC Ward told the court that she received a “really forceful” blow to her face and remembers "falling on the floor and everything went black".
"I was trying to keep hold of Mr Amaaz's arm and get it behind his back so I could get some cuffs on him," she said, reported BBC.
She added that Amaaz punched her while she was trying to stop him from kicking her colleague. "I tried to grab him off so he could stop kicking PC Marsden. All I remember then is that he turned and he punched me straight in the face," she said.
Also read: AAIB's preliminary report on Air India crash ‘very soon’: Civil Aviation Minister Naidu
"I can't really remember where it landed but I know where my injuries were. I remember falling on the floor and everything went black."
She also said that after coming to her senses, she could feel blood pouring out of her area but was unsure what had happened exactly.
"I was terrified to be honest. I was absolutely terrified. I had never experienced that level of violence towards me in my life," she said, adding that no one at the airport came to their aide.
"Nobody came to assist. I felt everyone in that room was against us. To be honest, I was terrified."
A video of PC Ward crying and panicking as she bleeds profusely through her nose has surfaced on social media.
What the defendant said
Defence lawyer Rosemary Fernandes, representing Amaaz, argued that her client was taken by surprise during the incident and that PC Ward and her colleagues should have identified themselves as police officers while approaching him. She added that Amaaz behaved the he way did because he thought he was being attacked from behind and acted in “self-defence”.
Speaking to PC Ward, Fernandes said, "I put it to you that the defendant believed he was being attacked from behind and it all happened extremely fast…It is the defence's case that he punched you in lawful self-defence on the basis that you were an assailant. Do you have any comment on that?"
To which, she replied, “I don't know how he felt I was an assailant. He turned towards me and punched me in the face…He could see I was a police officer and he could see I was a female as well."
The trial is still ongoing.
