A kick in the head…

I am sure you will have all seen the story that has emerged concerning the behaviour of a Manchester police officer (or maybe a couple of police officers) at Manchester Airport. This concerns an assault that was videod being carried out on a Muslim man and there’s a big furore it. Which side to take?

The Muslims concerned (there were several) appeared to have been not co-operating with/and or resisting arrest and a female police officer had her nose *broken* so the situation seems to have been pretty full on. The big question being discussed is “Was it appropriate for the police officer concerned to have trampled or stood on the head of the Muslim man concerned”?

My view is that on balance no it’s not. It was patently excessive. It wasn’t right. I understand the situation was very challenging for the police officers and I’ve got the upmost respect for the police when placed in danger. Would you like your head kicked in because you annoyed a Police officer? What about tomorrow? Here in London at Tommy Robinson’s demo? What about getting a few heads kicked in there as well by the police? The fact of the matter is that policing is a very difficult job and some officers don’t make very good calls. I think this is what happened at Manchester Airport. I think there’s culpability on all sides but we should be big enough to put our hands up and recognise a failure in policing. No one should be stomped on the head!