A police constable could face assault charges over footage appearing to show him kick and stamp on a teenager’s head as he lay on the floor.
Muhammad Fahir, 19, had been tasered during an incident at Manchester Airport and was lying face down.
The Greater Manchester Police officer, who has not been named, was suspended the following day and the force referred itself to the watchdog.
On Friday the watchdog confirmed the officer is now under criminal investigation for suspected assault.
A solicitor representing Mr Fahir claimed the teenager suffered a brain cyst and was ‘fighting for his life’ on Thursday.
The incident sparked two nights of protests in Manchester and Rochdale, with some 400 people staging a sit-in in central Manchester which caused severe disruption to the city’s tram network.
Appealing for calm earlier on Friday, Manchester mayor Andy Burnham said the video is not ‘clear cut’ and that the investigation is ‘fast moving and complicated’.
Mr Burnham told the BBC: ‘I would ask for calm because what I can assure people is that the right and proper steps have been taken in the right way.
‘There are issues for both sides, but that said, it is right the officer has been suspended.’
Mr Fahir, his brother Amaad and their elderly mother all say they were assaulted by at least one officer at the airport.
Akhmed Yakoob, the solicitor representing the brothers, said the family are ‘traumatised’.
He claimed another of Fahir’s relatives works as an officer with Greater Manchester Police and is now ‘not going to work is because he is fearing for his own safety’.
Paul Waugh, the newly elected MP for Rochdale, said Mr Fahir’s relatives told him in a meeting today that they were determined to get justice.
Mr Waugh said: ‘This is a hardworking Rochdale family, some of whose members are police officers themselves and are therefore particularly shocked at what they have witnessed.’
Central Manchester was briefly brought to a standstill yesterday evening by protesters who blocked roads and tram lines.
Prior to announcing the criminal investigation, GMP said: ‘Following a thorough review of further information that has become available in relation to an incident at Manchester Airport on Tuesday evening, Greater Manchester Police has suspended a police officer from all duties.
‘A referral has now been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct for a full independent investigation.
‘We understand the deep concerns that have been widely raised with us, and will continue to meet and discuss these feelings with Greater Manchester residents and elected representatives, whilst this independent investigation takes place.’
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