Manchester Airport attacker who knocked female police officer to the ground during brawl is jailed for three-and-a-half years
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was sentenced after attacking Pc Lydia Ward and Pc Ellie Cook in July 2024 and slammed by a judge for showing a "total lack of remorse"
A man who assaulted two female police officers and a member of the public at Manchester Airport has been jailed for three-and-a-half years.
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Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, attacked Pc Lydia Ward and Pc Ellie Cook during the violent incident that went viral on social media and for an earlier assault on a member of the public in a Starbucks.
Video footage of the violent brawl has been widely circulated on social media.
Fahir Amaaz was found guilty at Liverpool Crown Court after the incident on July 23 2024.
Pc Ward suffered a broken nose as she was floored by a punch to the face from Amaaz who also knocked Pc Cook to the ground with a series of elbows and punches.
Speaking in court today, Ms Ward said: "You chose to attack a female. You knocked me to the ground with one punch, with so much force you broke my nose. What you did was cowardly."
Read more: Two brothers accused of Manchester Airport assault on police officer will not face third trial
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Three Greater Manchester Police officers entered the Terminal 2 car park paystation after reports that a male fitting Amaaz’s description had headbutted a member of the public at a Starbucks cafe in the airport minutes earlier.
The prosecution said Amaaz resisted their attempts to take him outside and his brother Muhammad Amaad then intervened.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz also faced allegations that he attacked Pc Zachary Marsden during the incident with his brother Amaad, 26.
Last month, a decision was made by the Crown Prosecution Service not to pursue a third trial after a second jury was discharged after failing to reach verdicts in the retrial of two brothers following nearly 20 hours of deliberations.
Ms Ward, now a police sergeant, entered the witness box at Liverpool Crown Court on Friday to read out her victim personal statement as Amaaz watched on videolink from prison where he has been on remand for the past 11 months.
She said: "I want you to take a good look at me. Take away that I am a police officer. Look at me, standing here.“What do you see?
"I’ll tell you what you see. You see a female. A female who is 5ft2 and at the time of the incident I weighed no more than eight stone.
"You are a male and you chose to attack me without a second thought. You chose to attack a female. You knocked me to the ground with one punch, with so much force you broke my nose.
"What you did was cowardly."
She added: "What angers me is that afterwards, when only part of the footage was out in the public, you played the victim.“You are not a victim.
"I am the one who was injured, not you. You had the whole world listening to you and you showed no remorse. Not one ounce.
"You allowed the public to feel sorry for you. You made out like we had done something wrong when all we were doing was our job.
"The things that have been written about me on social media are disgusting. Do I deserve to be spoken about in that way? I was made to feel like an idiot.
"You could have stopped that by telling the truth. Instead, you continued with this narrative, even when the full footage was published."
Sgt Ward said she had been left with a small scar on her nose which would “forever remind me of what you did".
The men claimed they acted in lawful self-defence, or defence of each other.
Amaaz also claimed he did not realise Pc Ward and Pc Cook were women as “it was happening so fast, I couldn’t process the little details”.
He was also convicted at the previous trial of assaulting the member of the public, Abdulkareem Ismaeil, in Starbucks.
Earlier Judge Flewitt criticised the ‘total lack of remorse’ shown by Amaaz and said: "It would have been open to you, having seen the CCTV, to say there was no justification for your attack on Ismaeil, PC Ward and PC Cook.
"Instead, you sought to blame others for what was your responsibility and portray yourself as the victim. That does not bode well for your rehabilitation."
Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson QPM said: afterwards "This incident began after a man was headbutted in a public place in front of his family.
"Our officers were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public. In undertaking their duties, officers were met with resistance and violence, followed by online vilification, condemnation and adverse commentary from those who did not have the full facts.
"It is vital that officers get the respect and support they deserve for routinely putting themselves in harm’s way to protect the public.
"Assaults on police officers are sadly all too common – 35 of my officers are assaulted every week across GM – and such incidents can never be justified."
Two juries could not reach a verdict over a separate allegation that Amaaz also caused actual bodily harm to firearms officer Pc Zachary Marsden.
Last month, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said it would not pursue a third trial against Amaaz and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, who faced a single count of assaulting Pc Marsden, and they were formally acquitted by the judge.
The defendants, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, claimed they acted in lawful self-defence, or in defence of the other, during the fracas.
In December 2024 the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) announced no police officer would face charges over the incident, which led to GMP lifting the suspension of Pc Marsden from all duties.
An investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) remains ongoing into allegations that Pc Marsden and second officer used excessive force, the court heard.
However, both Pc Ward and Pc Cook were only being treated as witnesses.
More to follow...