Bodycam video shows moment woman cop bloodied, sobbing after arrest scuffle

Police constable Lydia Ward of Greater Manchester Police told a jury she was "absolutely terrified" after being punched in the face and knocked to the ground while attempting to arrest a suspect at Manchester Airport, according to a report in Sky News.

The female constable suffered a broken nose during the incident, which occurred at the Terminal 2 car park pay station on 23 July last year.

Two brothers from Rochdale, 20-year-old Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and 26-year-old Muhammad Amaad, stand accused of assaulting officers during the altercation. Both deny all charges.

Testifying in court, Ward described the moment she was attacked. "I remember falling to the floor and everything went black," she said, explaining that the punch was "really forceful", she said.

Footage from the constable’s body-cam was also played to the jury which showed a bloodied and crying Ward being comforted by a colleague in the aftermath of the incident.

Ward and two colleagues had approached Amaaz near a ticket machine following reports that a man matching his description had headbutted a customer at the nearby Starbucks in T2 arrivals.

According to the prosecution, Mr Amaaz resisted arrest and his brother intervened, allegedly using a "high level of violence" against the officers.

According to a BBC report, describing the struggle, Ward said, "I was trying to get Mr Amaaz’s arm behind his back to put handcuffs on him. I remember Police constable Zachary Marsden either falling or being pushed into some seats, and Mr Amaaz started kicking him. I tried to pull him away, and that’s when he turned and punched me straight in the face."

"I can’t remember exactly where the punch landed, but I knew by my injuries that it was bad. I fell to the ground and everything went black. When I came to, all I could feel was blood pouring from my nose. I didn’t know what had happened. I was absolutely terrified. I’d never experienced that level of violence before," she added.

She said she feared being attacked again and was unsure who else might strike her.

During cross-examination, defence barrister Rosemary Fernandes suggested Mr Amaaz acted in "lawful self-defence," believing he was being attacked by unidentified individuals. She argued that officers failed to properly identify themselves as police.

"We didn’t have time for rational discussion with this male, it turned violent very quickly," Ward responded, adding that it would have been obvious she was a female police officer.

Mr Amaaz is accused of causing actual bodily harm to both Ward and Marsden, as well as assaulting Police constable Cook and a man named Abdulkareem Ismaeil in the earlier Starbucks incident.

His brother, Mr Amaad, is also charged with causing actual bodily harm to Police constable Marsden. The trial is ongoing.

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