Policeman Brother of Manchester Airport Attackers Described Black Colleague’s Braided Hair as ‘Looking Like a Mop’, Misconduct Panel Told

The policeman brother of the siblings caught on camera battling officers at Manchester Airport described a black female colleague’s braided hair as ‘looking like a mop’, a misconduct hearing was told today.

PC Mohammed Abid is one of seven current and two former officers facing disciplinary proceedings over allegations of using racist language.

It comes after a policewoman claimed colleagues based at Bury police station regularly ‘mimicked’ her African accent, leaving her feeling ‘anxious’ and ‘nervous’.

In July 2024, there was widespread outrage when PC Abid’s younger brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, then 19, was seen being kicked in the face by a police officer in mobile phone footage which went viral.

However, CCTV footage later revealed that he and another brother, Muhammad Amaad, had violently resisted efforts to arrest Amaaz for headbutting of a tourist at Manchester Airport.

After a case which sparked accusations of police racism and claims of two-tier justice, Amaaz was jailed for assaulting two female officers.

But two juries failed to reach verdicts on whether he or Amaad had assaulted a male colleague.

Lawyers for the men repeatedly highlighted how neither brother – both from Rochdale – had been in trouble with the police before, and six members of the family are current or former officers with Greater Manchester Police.

Heavily-built Amaad, a former assistant manager at KFC, had himself twice applied unsuccessfully to join the force – including a 999 dispatch role just three months before the airport incident.

Both trials heard a glowing character reference from PC Abid, who praised his brother Amaaz’s ‘respectful, gentle and soft-spoken nature’ and ‘dedication to academic roles’.

‘He’s always looked up to me as a role model,’ he added.

But jurors were not told that PC Abid faced disciplinary proceedings over the racism allegation.

After the Manchester Airport case came to an end, the solicitor who represented the brothers at their trials claimed PC Abid’s identity had been leaked as part of a ‘desperate’ attempt to ‘smear’ his clients.

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