Latest news with #ZacharyMarsden
Daily Mail
09-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Armed police officer filmed kicking suspect in the head in Manchester Airport brawl denies aiming another stamp at him
An armed police officer who was filmed kicking a suspect in the head during an airport brawl has denied aiming a further stamp on him. Zachary Marsden told a court he was trying to clamp his radio wire with his foot when near the head of suspect Mohammed Fahir Amaaz as he lay on the floor. A jury at Liverpool Crown Court was shown CCTV footage of the kick and stamp to the head of Amaaz at Terminal Two of Manchester airport in July last year. Firearms officer Mr Marsden has admitted kicking suspect Amaaz, 20, in the head during the fracas at the pay station in Terminal Two at Manchester airport last July. The attempted arrest sparked a brawl involving Amaaz, his brother Muhammed Amaad, 26, and three officers which was filmed and went viral on the internet. Amaaz 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. Amaad is accused of one charge of assault causing actual bodily harm on PC Marsden. The brothers, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, say they were acting in self defence. PC Marsden has spent his third day in the witness box where he was further cross-examined by Imran Khan KC, who is representing Amaaz. He denied Mr Khan's suggestion that he had stamped on Amaaz's head because 'the red mist had fallen and you had lost control'. Mr Marsden said he was trying to hook the wire of his radio, which was dangling from his body, around his foot to create ' a clamp ' because he feared Amaaz could grab the device and pull him to the floor. He said: 'I was not aiming for his head - I was aiming for the wire. 'I am not justifying a stamp to the head - it was never my intention to stamp on anyone's head and I do not believe that I made contact with his head.' Mr Marsden also denied suggestions he had pushed his Taser into the face of Amaaz's mother Shameem Akhtar as she knelt beside her son on the floor . Mr Khan told the witness: 'She was bending over with her hand on her son's head - she was trying to protect her son's head.' Marsden responded by saying: 'I still deny trying to stamp on his head. 'I was trying to clamp the wire. My vision was impaired and I was disorientated, having been punched ten to 15 times.' The officer was shown a photograph of Mrs Akhtar which showed a facial injury, as Mr Khan asked him: 'Did you cause that injury? ' Mr Marsden replied: 'I believe it is unclear whether it was or was not my actions which caused this injury. 'I believe I was not the only person to make contact with Mrs Akhtar.' Mr Khan said that Mr Marsden had hit Mrs Akhtar with his Taser. The police officer told him in response: 'I acknowledge what you are suggesting and I am disputing it. 'I firmly believe you can wholly say it was my actions. I pushed her twice with my right hand. I believe it was justified and proportionate in the circumstances. 'She was grabbing my leg and I was being pulled forwards. Using my left hand, I took hold of her grip to remove it.' Mr Khan asked: 'What was she preventing you doing which required you take that action?' Mr Marsden said he was being prevented from placing handcuffs on Amaaz, adding: 'I was being pulled over and risked being pulled on top of him. I was vulnerable.' Mr Khan said the CCTV showed there was a 'hard push' of Mr Marsden's Taser into the face of Mrs Akhtar and suggested he could have used his hand. Mr Marsden told the court: 'It was a fast-paced incident. 'There was no time to use my hand. I needed to act quickly to control him.' The officer was also questioned over using a pepper spray on an onlooker called Mr Ali Rahman who was with two relatives filming the incident on their phones. The jury was shown mobile phone footage of officers trying to arrest a man named as Saaed Rahman on suspicion of obstructing the police. Another man called Ihsman Rahman protested: 'We have just come off the plane - we have not done anything.' Amaaz appeared to still be grappling with one officer before he was hit with the Taser shot Having 'deemed' that his assailant was 'a threat', PC Marsden said he struck Amaad (pictured right) in the face with his first in an attempt to push him away Mr Marsden said that other officers were pointing Tasers at the three men and he decided to use his pepper spray as 'a less lethal option ' to help secure the arrest. He agreed that he had said after the incident that there were '10 to 15 of them against the three of us'. He added: 'The crowd was hostile. No one in that room was trying to help us. They watched us being violently beaten again and again.' Cross-examining Pc Marsden, Chloe Gardner, defending Amaad, said: 'I suggest that you and your colleagues were the aggressors.' Pc Marsden said: 'I can only account for my actions. I deny what you allege." Amaaz is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden and Pc Lydia Ward, causing them actual bodily harm. He is also accused of the assault of Pc Ellie Cook and the earlier Starbucks assault of Abdulkareem Ismaeil, while Amaad is alleged to have assaulted Pc Marsden, causing actual bodily harm. Both deny the allegations. The trial continues.
The Sun
08-07-2025
- The Sun
Officer who kicked man in the head during Manchester airport brawl says he acted ‘professionally'
THE police officer filmed kicking a man in the head during an airport brawl has told a court he acted 'professionally'. Firearms cop Zachary Marsden has admitted kicking Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, while he was on the ground, last July. 3 3 PC Marsden told a jury he was trying to arrest Amaaz for headbutting another man in a cafe at Manchester Airport. Marsden said he was aware of the "crowd dynamic' in the pay station area and wanted to remove Amaaz from the area in case of an adverse crowd reaction. He said: 'Based on my experience as a police off icer, affecting an arrest in a crowd can create its own crowd dynamic risk. "It would be better to remove him from the crowd. 'I did not want to operate within the crowd which could give them the opportunity to escalate the situation." The brawl, which also involved Amaaz's brother Muhammad Amaad, 26, and two other officers was filmed and went viral on the internet. Both brothers, from Rochdale, deny assault charges and claim they acted in self defence. Their lawyer Imran Khan KC told Liverpool crown court Amaaz saw PC Marsden aim his Taser at his brother and may have believed it was a gun. The trial continues. Moment man 'headbutted dad at Manchester airport before brawling with cops' 3
Daily Mail
08-07-2025
- Daily Mail
Police officer filmed kicking a suspect in the head during Manchester Airport brawl was being 'professional', court hears
The police officer filmed kicking a suspect in the head at an airport brawl told a jury that he had acted 'professionally' during the confrontation. Firearms officer Zachary Marsden has admitted kicking suspect Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, in the head during the fracas at the pay station in Terminal Two at Manchester airport in July last year. PC Marsden has told the jury at Liverpool crown court that he was trying to arrest Amaaz for head butting another man , Abdulkareem Ismaeil , in a Starbucks cafe minutes earlier. The attempted arrest sparked a brawl involving Amaaz, his brother Muhammed Amaad,26, and three officers which was filmed and went viral on the internet. Marsden was cross examined today by Imran Khan KC for Amaaz. Mr Khan told Marsden: 'It is his case that last year on July 23 you made a series of mistakes, some or all which were not in accordance with your police training which ultimately resulted in your conduct falling below the professional standards required of a police officer. 'And you used unlawful force against him, leaving him to defend himself and his brother.' Mr Khan asked: ' How would you characterise you conduct as a police officer in general?' Firearms officer Zachary Marsden has admitted kicking suspect Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, in the head during the fracas at the pay station in Terminal Two at Manchester airport in July last year The dramatic moment when two brothers allegedly assaulted police officers as they tried to arrest them at Manchester Airport last summer was shown to a jury today Marsden replied: 'Professional.' Mr Khan: ' How would you assess your performance as a police officer on that day? ' Marsden: 'Professional.' Mr Khan continued:'Do you consider, when looking at the CCTV, that there were aspects of your performance which which fell below the standards of a police officer?' Marsden: 'No.' The officer said that he had made a 14 page statement to the Indpendent Office for Police Conduct in October last year but had refused to answer questions. The jury were told that Marsden was told that the IOPC were investigating whether he had used 'excessive and unjustified force which amounted to assault.' Marsden told the court that it was his intention to approach Amaaz at the pay station and remove him from the area on suspicion of assault causing actual bodily harm. He had no knowledge that Amaaz was with anyone else and said he decided to approach him in the pay station area because there was a risk he could escape in a car. Marsden said he was aware of the ' crowd dynamic ' in the pay station area and wanted to remove Amaaz from the area in case of an adverse crowd reaction. He said: 'Based on my experience as a police officer, affecting an arrest in a crowd can create its own crowd dynamic risk. It would be better to remove him from the crowd. 'I did not want to operate within the crowd which could give them the opportunity to escalate the situation.' Mr Khan asked him: 'If there was any risk in your mind about the crowd, would you not want to reduce that risk?' Marsden said: 'If I thought that the crowd posed a risk to me physically, I would not put myself in a dangerous position. 'There were seconds to make a decision about what was happening. We had to make a split second decision, which is a key and crucial part of our role. 'It is something we do every day, removing people from planes or from bars. It was no different removing someone from a dense crowd.' Mr Khan asked if it would not have been 'simpler' to have one officer at the door of the pay station area and another at the gate of the car park while he made the arrest. Having 'deemed' that his assailant was 'a threat', PC Marsden said he struck Amaad (pictured right) in the face with his first in an attempt to push him away Marsden replied: 'There is a difference between simple and safe. I was carrying a loaded firearm. I did not think it was appropriate to separate myself when they could assist me in detaining someone. 'This was a subject who had allegedly head butted someone. I did not think it safe to try to detain him on my own when I had the luxury of other officers to help me. We needed to control them before they could attack us. We had the element of surprise. 'There are always elements of risk but it was my duty to reduce those risks wherever possible. It was my honestly held belief that it was not appropriate to explain our attendance in the hope he would comply and leave with us. 'Based on my previous experience, someone who had head butted someone could be violent again. It was not a risk I was prepared to take. If he was aware of a police officer, he could have tried to run. 'It unfortunately led to violence as I was struck several times.' Amaaz 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 on PC Marsden. The brothers from Rochdale, Greater Manchester claim they were acting in self defence.
