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A crowd of people has protested outside a police station in Greater Manchester, amid anger over a policeman filmed kicking a man in the head at the city’s airport.<\/p>\n Chanting “shame on you”, the protesters in Rochdale accused the police of institutional racism, footage from the protest online appears to show.<\/p>\n Greater Manchester Police said it understood people’s “immense feeling of concern” and respected the right to protest – and that the demonstration had finished “safely without incident”.<\/p>\n The force has referred itself for investigation and removed one officer from operational duties following the kicking video.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n The video, filmed at Manchester Airport on Tuesday evening, shows a male police officer holding a Taser over a man, who is lying face down on the floor.<\/p>\n The officer then appears to stamp on and kick the man in the head, while other officers shout at onlookers to stay back.<\/p>\n The video was widely shared on social media and has been described as “truly shocking” by the police force itself.<\/p>\n At the protest on Wednesday evening, a crowd of what appeared to be several hundred people gathered outside a police station in Rochdale.<\/p>\n The Manchester Evening News reported that one of the protesters had told the crowd they were “no longer going to settle” for “police brutality”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n GMP said its officers had been called to Terminal 2 of the airport at 20:25 BST on Tuesday following reports of a fight.<\/p>\n It said while trying to arrest a suspect, three of its officers were violently attacked and punched to the ground. One officer suffered a broken nose and all three needed hospital treatment.<\/p>\n “As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them,” a spokesman for the force said.<\/p>\n Four men were arrested at the scene for affray and assault on emergency service workers.<\/p>\n GMP earlier said it had voluntarily referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct – the watchdog that oversees police conduct and investigates complaints.<\/p>\n The IOPC said it would assess GMP’s referral “and decide what further action is required”.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n Amar Minhas from Leeds told the BBC he was coming through arrivals when he saw the scene unfold.<\/p>\n He said police officers had approached one of the men, in his early 20s, and told him he was a wanted man, before \u201cthey pinned him up against a wall\u201d.<\/p>\n Another man then \u201cstarted on the police\u201d and a fight ensued, he said.<\/p>\n The man who was being pinned against the wall started \u201cthrowing punches, he was Tasered, and fell to the floor\u201d, Mr Minhas said.<\/p>\n \u201cThat\u2019s when the policeman kicked him.”<\/p>\n The Mayor of Greater Manchester, Andy Burnham, described the video as “disturbing” and said he recognised “the widespread and deep concern” it had caused.<\/p>\n He said he had raised his concerns with GMP’s deputy chief constable.<\/p>\n Andy George, president of the National Black Police Association, described the video as “difficult to watch”.<\/p>\n In a post on X, formerly Twitter, he wrote: “Whilst policing is a really difficult job, we are trained to a higher standard and held to a higher standard.”<\/p>\n Home Office minister Dame Diana Johnson also posted on X: \u201cI am aware of disturbing footage from an incident at Manchester Airport this afternoon and understand the public concern it has prompted.<\/p>\n \u201cI have asked for a full update from Greater Manchester Police.\u201d<\/p>\n In a statement after the video went viral, Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said: \u201cWe know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about. <\/p>\n “The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.”<\/p>\n Commenting on the protest in Rochdale, and noting the referral already made to the IOPC, ACC Chaudhry said: “We understand the immense feeling of concern and worry that people feel about our response and fully respect their right to demonstrate their views peacefully.”<\/p>\n He added: \u201cWe have spent the evening listening to community feedback and will continue to engage with communities and elected members to maintain strong partnership links and understand local views.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n