Manchester Airport suspect: I had no idea officers I punched were women
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, claims he was acting in self-defence, or in defence of his brother, when he struck out at Pc Lydia Ward, Pc Ellie Cook and Pc Zachary Marsden.
The Greater Manchester Police officers entered the Terminal 2 car park pay station after reports that a man fitting Amaaz's description had headbutted a member of the public inside the airport just minutes before, on July 23 last year.
Prosecutors say Mr Amaaz resisted arrest and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, intervened as both subjected the officers to a 'high level of violence'.
Credit: CPS
Mr Amaaz has told Liverpool Crown Court that he feared Pc Marsden would 'batter him' to death as he said he was grabbed by the head and neck, and pushed downwards.
Cross-examining Mr Amaaz on Friday, Paul Greaney KC said: 'You were, in simple terms, resisting the attempts of these officers to arrest you?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'If those officers wanted to detain me they could have simply told me so.'
Mr Greaney said: 'What did you think they were coming in to do? To come in and murder you?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'These officers had come and literally forced me straight into the ticket machine. They didn't give me a second to think.
'My brother intervenes because this officer is trying to force me down to the ground.'
Mr Greaney told jurors that Mr Amaaz went on to kick Pc Marsden as he struggled with Mr Amaad, and that Mr Amaaz then punched Pc Cook to the face.
He said: 'You knew full well you were punching a woman.'
'No,' said Mr Amaaz.
Mr Greaney said: 'She has long blonde hair in a ponytail, I ask you to acknowledge that you knew you were delivering blows to the face of a woman?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'I didn't know that at this stage.'
Credit: CPS
Mr Greaney pointed out to Mr Amaaz that he was looking straight in the direction of Pc Ward when he then punched her to the face and broke her nose.
Mr Greaney said: 'Is it your position that Pc Ward was part of a group that was trying to murder you?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'She was part of that group. I believed Pc Marsden tried to kill me.'
Mr Greaney said: 'Do you still believe that now?'
'Yes,' said the defendant.
Mr Greaney said: 'The prosecution case is there was absolutely nothing defensive in punching that woman (Pc Ward) in the face. It was offensive and unlawful, and you were wholly out of control.'
Mr Greaney said footage showed Pc Cook approach Mr Amaaz to detain him because of his violence.
Mr Amaaz said: 'No, she literally came running at me with her hands raised towards my face. I felt any second now this officer is going to attack me and I needed to protect myself.'
Mr Greaney said: 'At your feet is an injured officer and she (Pc Cook) is coming towards you with her hands open. It was obvious she wanted to detain you and stop you committing any further violence.'
Mr Amaaz said: 'I was not looking at her face.'
Mr Greaney told the defendant that the footage showed Pc Cook 'flinching away' from a punch that was about to land.
Mr Greaney said: 'Do you agree that your violence knocked her to the ground?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'Yes, I struck her.'
The prosecutor said: 'This is the second woman you have hit to the floor within seconds.'
'Yes,' said Mr Amaaz.
Mr Greaney said: 'All of those 12 blows were against people you knew virtually from the outset were police officers, that's what you did that day?'
Mr Amaaz said: 'I didn't know from the start.
'This lunatic (Pc Marsden) booted me in the head and stamped on me,
'If that's not enough he elbowed my mother in the face with a Taser.
'And if that's not enough he punched my brother in the back of the head twice.'
Mr Amaaz agreed with Mr Greaney that following his arrest he made no comment in his police interview.
Mr Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Ward, causing them actual bodily harm.
He is also accused of the assault of emergency worker Pc Cook, and the earlier assault of a member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, at a Starbucks cafe in T2 arrivals.
Mr Amaad is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm.
Both men, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, deny the allegations.
The trial continues on Monday.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
28 minutes ago
- Yahoo
Taser trial for prison officers to tackle violence
Specially trained staff in male prisons in England and Wales will be issued with Tasers as part of a new trial to clamp down on violence. The pilot comes as new figures obtained by the BBC show more than £20m has been paid out in damages over five years to staff and prisoners who have been assaulted. Ministers say they will look at whether the electric stun guns should be more widely used after the trial this summer. The Prison Officers' Association (POA) said the cost of the "intolerable" levels of violence was an issue the government needed to tackle with a sense of urgency and the use of Tasers was long overdue. Speaking after watching a demonstration of the technology at a training facility in Oxfordshire, Lord Chancellor and Justice Secretary Shabana Mahmood said the government would not allow jails to be controlled by fear or disorder. "We're already rolling out protective body armour and by trialling Tasers we're making sure staff have the tools they need to keep themselves safe." Mark Fairhurst, national chairman of the POA, said: "Prisons have been overcrowded for decades, which leads to a lack of activity spaces for prisoners leading to boredom, drug abuse and violence. "Staff must be equipped with the personal protective equipment they need to quell violence and prevent life-changing injuries." The Tasers will be issued to a specialist national unit, which will respond to complex and serious incidents in men's prisons where there is a risk to safety, including hostage situations and riots. Severe PTSD after attack The intervention follows an attack on three prison officers in April at HMP Frankland in County Durham. Former officer Claire Lewis, who is still affected by severe PTSD after being stabbed by a prisoner 15 years ago, is welcoming the Taser roll-out in limited situations. She said: "Tasers are a great piece of kit, however, only in an environment whereby it's a planned extraction or if there's an assault on a wing." Ms Lewis, who also worked at HMP Frankland, is campaigning for all officers to have stab-proof vests. "If I'd have got a vest on when I was attacked, I would not have received the serious injury I did to my back - it narrowly missed my spinal cord." The latest Ministry of Justice figures showed the number of staff assaulted in adult prisons across England and Wales hit a new peak last year. Between 2020 and 2024 there were 334 compensation claims for prisoner-on-prisoner assaults, 232 prisoner-on-staff cases and 104 claims of staff assaulting inmates, according to a BBC freedom of information request. Joan - not her real name - a former prison worker in south-east England, said: "They used to use snooker balls in socks, now they use full cans of drinks in socks to attack each other, "They make knives out of tuna cans. I did see an officer get kettled, which means hot water thrown over him." The Prison Service says it is also ramping up the number of full lockdown searches in high-security jails to stop more of the contraband which fuels violence behind bars. Last month anti-drone measures such as new netting and reinforced windows were announced. President of the Prison Governors' Association Tom Wheatley backed the Taser trial for specialist officers, but not a wider roll-out to staff. "If they were issued to all officers on a daily basis, it could carry additional risk," he said. "Certainly not issued more generally, because they form a threat item, so if somebody managed to get a Taser off a member of staff, that would be a real concern to us." Follow BBC Kent on Facebook, on X, and on Instagram. Send your story ideas to southeasttoday@ or WhatsApp us on 08081 002250. More on this story Tasers in prisons to be trialled after Abedi attack Surge in call-outs for specialist prison squad Bold spending needed to halt prison crisis - union Manchester Arena bomber attacks prison officers Related internet links The POA Ministry of Justice
CBS News
30 minutes ago
- CBS News
1 man in critical condition after shooting in Pittsburgh's Bedford Dwellings neighborhood
A man has been hospitalized in critical condition after a shooting in Pittsburgh's Bedford Dwellings neighborhood. Just before 8 p.m. Sunday, Pittsburgh police officers from Zone 2 were dispatched to the 2500 block of Chauncey Drive for a single, four-round ShotSpotter alert. While officers were en route to the scene, a man with a single gunshot wound to his chest arrived at the Zone 2 police station after driving himself there. EMS personnel subsequently transported the man to an area hospital. A preliminary information suggests that the suspect fled the scene on Chauncey Drive in a vehicle, heading north, towards the McKees Rocks area. Officers are reviewing any available camera footage and interviewing witnesses in the area as the investigation remains ongoing.
CBS News
an hour ago
- CBS News
18-year-old dead, 2 teens injured after crashing into tree in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, police say
An 18-year-old woman is dead, and two teens were injured after their car crashed into a tree in Fairless Hills, Pennsylvania, on Sunday, Bristol Township police said. The crash happened on Wistar Road near Armstrong Middle School just before 4 p.m., according to police. Police said a 17-year-old boy was driving a white 2002 Mustang eastbound on Wistar Road at a high rate of speed with two passengers inside, including the 18-year-old woman in the backseat, when he lost control and struck a tree. The 18-year-old was taken to St. Mary Medical Center in Langhorne, where she died from her injuries, according to police. The 17-year-old driver, who is from Levittown, Bucks County, and another 17-year-old boy sitting in the front passenger seat were both placed in stable condition at St. Mary, police said. The crash is under investigation. Anyone with information about the crash is asked to contact the Bristol Township Police Department.
