GMP - Manchester Airport

[Slick]

I'm not overly convinced he had the time to appreciate what had happened to them. He's had a bit of a doing off the fat brother before subduing him with the taser. He has his back to them most of the time and then has to deal with shit haircut brother who lands at least half a a dozen blows from behind before grabbing him round the neck and at that point they both go to the ground. I doubt he knew at that stage that they were injured.
The more I see it the more I am convinced that any lawyer worth his salt makes the case that he was an armed police officer in an international airport and suddenly subjected to an incredible degree of violence by numerous assailants. He perceived an attempt to take his weapons and felt he had to subdue the threat by any means possible to protect his life and the lives of others. Public opinion is now so heavily in his favour that there isn't a chance he gets convicted.

Is the problem here not going to be that the guy was very clearly subdued? Tasered, face down, clearly no longer a threat - a huge kick to the head AND a head stomp screams "I want to hurt this fucker badly". He may well get away with it as there will be a certain level of sympathy baked in, but it's not a foregone conclusion.

Even if we entertain 'heat of the moment'/not enough time passed to realise the the situation had defused defence for the kick and stamp on the prone bloke, how does that relate to the second guy the officer starts in on? The guy who was sitting on a chair with his hands on his head? The officer instructs chair guy to get down on the ground and when he starts to do so, but fails to manage it in a nano-second while keeping his hands on his head, the officer then kicks and punches (while holding a taser) him completely needlessly.

For the same reasons, the officer is neutralising the threat after being jumped and two of his colleagues getting battered. He was a big fat cunt who may well have kicked off again given very recent experience, so just get it over with.

[Blackmac]

Any takers for my theory that the female officers are part of the problem? Male officer's "overreaction" is basically that of a man protecting a female friend who has just been attacked by a man.

I'm not overly convinced he had the time to appreciate what had happened to them. He's had a bit of a doing off the fat brother before subduing him with the taser. He has his back to them most of the time and then has to deal with shit haircut brother who lands at least half a a dozen blows from behind before grabbing him round the neck and at that point they both go to the ground. I doubt he knew at that stage that they were injured.
The more I see it the more I am convinced that any lawyer worth his salt makes the case that he was an armed police officer in an international airport and suddenly subjected to an incredible degree of violence by numerous assailants. He perceived an attempt to take his weapons and felt he had to subdue the threat by any means possible to protect his life and the lives of others. Public opinion is now so heavily in his favour that there isn't a chance he gets convicted.

Is the problem here not going to be that the guy was very clearly subdued? Tasered, face down, clearly no longer a threat - a huge kick to the head AND a head stomp screams "I want to hurt this fucker badly". He may well get away with it as there will be a certain level of sympathy baked in, but it's not a foregone conclusion.

It's funny how different experiences change perceptions in this situation. I'm not sure what yours are JMK but I've been in at least a dozen incredibly violent situations, probably two where I definitely felt my life was under threat. The knife incident being one. At the end of every one of them I have struggled to properly recollect the events. There are very few, even the most highly trained specialist, who retain composure under such attack and it is only people who have never experienced it that would expect you could.

In respect of the "huge" kick and stamp, my opinion is, controversially maybe, that he pulled the kick and the stamp barely connected. I was kicked in the head by a female during a violent arrest where I was lying over her boyfriend trying to handcuff him. The female, about 8 stone dripping wet, ran about 10 yards and volleyed me under the chin briefly knocking me unconscious. The whole thing was caught on CCTV and you could see my head being physically lifted into the air about half a foot. The female got a year in jail. The kick this officer delivered did not appear to have even a fraction of the force of that kick as evidence by the fact it barely appeared to stun the suspect who was looking around seconds later.

[Blackmac]

I think it's probably asking a fair old bit for someone to make reasoned assessments of the state of an assailant in that situation.

A few seconds before the kick, the policeman was getting whaled round the head by that bloke. I'm pretty sure I'd want to make certain he's out of the game, and not be too worried about how elegantly I do it. Especially if I was worried about him or one of his mates grabbing my firearm, and especially if you're not sure where all the protagonists are.

For folks like us and maybe the yahoos they call police in the US but they are supposed to be trained for this.

We'll know more when the investigation completes.

You are really overestimating the level of physical combat training that police officers get. Probably a few days in initial training and then likely a day or so refresher a year. Most of it will involve restrain techniques and use of a baton.

[Uncle fester]

I think it's probably asking a fair old bit for someone to make reasoned assessments of the state of an assailant in that situation.

A few seconds before the kick, the policeman was getting whaled round the head by that bloke. I'm pretty sure I'd want to make certain he's out of the game, and not be too worried about how elegantly I do it. Especially if I was worried about him or one of his mates grabbing my firearm, and especially if you're not sure where all the protagonists are.

For folks like us and maybe the yahoos they call police in the US but they are supposed to be trained for this.

We'll know more when the investigation completes.

You are really overestimating the level of physical combat training that police officers get. Probably a few days in initial training and then likely a day or so refresher a year. Most of it will involve restrain techniques and use of a baton.

Should there be more?

[Blackmac]

For folks like us and maybe the yahoos they call police in the US but they are supposed to be trained for this.

We'll know more when the investigation completes.

You are really overestimating the level of physical combat training that police officers get. Probably a few days in initial training and then likely a day or so refresher a year. Most of it will involve restrain techniques and use of a baton.

Should there be more?

I personally think yes there should, but regardless, most youngsters nowadays aren't really made of the stuff required to do it properly. I myself don't think I ever used an officer safety technique in any violent confrontation during my career. Just usually reverted to stuff I had learned growing up scraping as a kid or in the forces.

My point is that 99% of cops are not the cool calm and collected operatives people think they should be in a scrap. Most are just as scared and panicked and barely more capable than the average person.

[David in Gwent]

I would suggest that Mr Punchy was a trained Boxer, that or MMA. No one just punches like that by accident.

Not many people, the Feds included, stand much of a chance against people who actually know how to hit you.

[bogbunny]

I would suggest that Mr Punchy was a trained Boxer, that or MMA. No one just punches like that by accident.

Not many people, the Feds included, stand much of a chance against people who actually know how to hit you.

My thoughts as well, moved and punched hard and very fast.

[David in Gwent]

I'm not a massive fan of the police, I don't respect them as I used too, however, the officer concerned showed remarkable restraint in only kicking Mr Punchy once and a glancing stamp.

I would wager that almost everyone here bemoaning his behaviour have never, ever, been in that kind of situation and have literally no concept, at all, of the effects adrenaline has on a person.

[Guy Smiley]

I'm 63 years old and I've never taken adrenaline. Drugs are bad, mmmmkay

[David in Gwent]

I'm 63 years old and I've never taken adrenaline. Drugs are bad, mmmmkay

One would suggest that closest you've come to adrenaline in your white, middle class, privileged life is when you heard someone misgender someone else, on purpose, and you almost reported them to the authorities.

[Guy Smiley]

Just too easy.

No thrill in that. No rush.

[Slick]

I'm 63 years old and I've never taken adrenaline. Drugs are bad, mmmmkay

One would suggest that closest you've come to adrenaline in your white, middle class, privileged life is when you heard someone misgender someone else, on purpose, and you almost reported them to the authorities.

The Feds .

[TedMaul]

One pictures a virgin eating his tea at 62 years old cooked by his Mum.

[dpedin]

Quite a few years ago I went to a laser quest with some mates, one of whom was an undercover police officer with RUC and was fully trained on use of arms etc. We all thought he would win laser quest quite easily given he was an expert shot however he ended up last - every time someone came into view his training kicked in and he shouted his warning before shooting by which point he had been obliterated! He laughed about it but explained this had been ingrained into him and how he operated and it didn't matter it was a toy gun in his hand he still had to do the same process. I'm not sure what training the cop doing the head kicking had had but I'm pretty sure it hadn't included booting a man in the head who had been tasered and lying on the ground?

The yobs who kicked off the violence and assaulted the polis should be stand trial and hopefully go to prison, no matter what the wider contest nothing excuses their behavior. The policeman who kicked and stamped the head of the guy on the ground should also stand trial and be subject to the same laws of the land as everyone else regardless of the wider context as nothing excuses his behavior. These two positions are not mutually exclusive. As the polis themselves often remind the public one punch, or in this case kick, can kill.

At the end of the day trust in police is absolutely paramount. This trust has been eroded by a number of police actions in recent years - the Everard case, Damilola Taylor case, taking/sharing photos of murdered sisters, Bayoh case in Scotland, etc etc. The Casey report was pretty damning about the Met and from other reports the GMP are not much better. If police are allowed to drop kick and stamp on someone's head, no matter the circumstances, then they end up no better than the thugs they are trying to arrest and trust goes completely. If my mid 20s daughter who lives and works in London is in trouble and calls me for advice my first thought would be call the police ... I dont want my second thought to be shit should she call the police! If she decides to go on a march to peacefully protest about something close to her heart I don't want to worry about her being assaulted or worse by the Met or the GMP.

In my opinion the suspects pose a far greater threat to your daughter and to public safety than the over zealous police officer and if an example is not made of them a terrible message is sent that you can assault a police officer and get away with it.

It looks to me like the police officer got carried away in the heat of the moment here which is pretty excusable given just seconds before kicking the suspect he had punches raining down upon him. He may have been concussed, certainly his decision making was impaired and his survival instincts were heightened. Someone with a resting heart rate and breathing would not have done what he did but I think the aggression of the suspects will prove a mitigating factor. He will genuinely be able to argue that he felt in danger of his life and the lives of his colleagues and at the time of the kick it was not apparent that the situation was under complete control.

Of course the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for the crimes they committed, I never said they shouldn't. Assaulting any member of the emergency services should attract a higher penalty. However behaving in the same manner as the perpetrators because of the reasons you listed above is not excusable. The point I was making in previous post is that the police are trained to precisely not to react in this way for the obvious reasons but also because it lessens the chances of a successful prosecution or indeed being prosecuted themselves!

We have policing based on trust and there are numerous examples, I listed a few including this one, where the actions of the police have eroded trust, particularly in minority groups, and is making policing by consent a more difficult concept to protect. As a white middle aged, middle class male in Scotland I have grown up to trust the police implicitly, I have friends who were serving policemen and I have worked with the police force professionally. However the reality is if I was a young black female from a working class background living in deprived inner city London then my trust in the police given the examples I quoted in earlier post would make me think twice about trusting the Met Police if I was reporting a sexual assault for example. Maintaining trust is a difficult job for the police but it is easily lost and will be difficult to get back.

[Openside]

In rugby terms of a "Rugby incident", I'd call this a "Human incident".

I can't expect someone's thinking to be absolutely crystal clear after being attacked like that. Do I like to see someone who is clearly down being booted and stomped to the head? No, I don't. But do I understand the pressure that an incident like that can put on split second thoughts/actions? Yes, I can.

Some sort of internal slap on the wrist will do find, I think.

[Slick]

So…… actually how bad is MAN? Just booked flights from there for October half term

[Sandstorm]

So…… actually how bad is MAN? Just booked flights from there for October half term

It’s bad. Hope you got a good deal on the flights.

[Slick]

So…… actually how bad is MAN? Just booked flights from there for October half term

It’s bad. Hope you got a good deal on the flights.

About £1k cheaper than from Scotland and £400 than from London

[Sandstorm]

So…… actually how bad is MAN? Just booked flights from there for October half term

It’s bad. Hope you got a good deal on the flights.

About £1k cheaper than from Scotland and £400 than from London

Sweet deal.

[Blackmac]

Quite a few years ago I went to a laser quest with some mates, one of whom was an undercover police officer with RUC and was fully trained on use of arms etc. We all thought he would win laser quest quite easily given he was an expert shot however he ended up last - every time someone came into view his training kicked in and he shouted his warning before shooting by which point he had been obliterated! He laughed about it but explained this had been ingrained into him and how he operated and it didn't matter it was a toy gun in his hand he still had to do the same process. I'm not sure what training the cop doing the head kicking had had but I'm pretty sure it hadn't included booting a man in the head who had been tasered and lying on the ground?

The yobs who kicked off the violence and assaulted the polis should be stand trial and hopefully go to prison, no matter what the wider contest nothing excuses their behavior. The policeman who kicked and stamped the head of the guy on the ground should also stand trial and be subject to the same laws of the land as everyone else regardless of the wider context as nothing excuses his behavior. These two positions are not mutually exclusive. As the polis themselves often remind the public one punch, or in this case kick, can kill.

At the end of the day trust in police is absolutely paramount. This trust has been eroded by a number of police actions in recent years - the Everard case, Damilola Taylor case, taking/sharing photos of murdered sisters, Bayoh case in Scotland, etc etc. The Casey report was pretty damning about the Met and from other reports the GMP are not much better. If police are allowed to drop kick and stamp on someone's head, no matter the circumstances, then they end up no better than the thugs they are trying to arrest and trust goes completely. If my mid 20s daughter who lives and works in London is in trouble and calls me for advice my first thought would be call the police ... I dont want my second thought to be shit should she call the police! If she decides to go on a march to peacefully protest about something close to her heart I don't want to worry about her being assaulted or worse by the Met or the GMP.

In my opinion the suspects pose a far greater threat to your daughter and to public safety than the over zealous police officer and if an example is not made of them a terrible message is sent that you can assault a police officer and get away with it.

It looks to me like the police officer got carried away in the heat of the moment here which is pretty excusable given just seconds before kicking the suspect he had punches raining down upon him. He may have been concussed, certainly his decision making was impaired and his survival instincts were heightened. Someone with a resting heart rate and breathing would not have done what he did but I think the aggression of the suspects will prove a mitigating factor. He will genuinely be able to argue that he felt in danger of his life and the lives of his colleagues and at the time of the kick it was not apparent that the situation was under complete control.

Of course the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for the crimes they committed, I never said they shouldn't. Assaulting any member of the emergency services should attract a higher penalty. However behaving in the same manner as the perpetrators because of the reasons you listed above is not excusable. The point I was making in previous post is that the police are trained to precisely not to react in this way for the obvious reasons but also because it lessens the chances of a successful prosecution or indeed being prosecuted themselves!

We have policing based on trust and there are numerous examples, I listed a few including this one, where the actions of the police have eroded trust, particularly in minority groups, and is making policing by consent a more difficult concept to protect. As a white middle aged, middle class male in Scotland I have grown up to trust the police implicitly, I have friends who were serving policemen and I have worked with the police force professionally. However the reality is if I was a young black female from a working class background living in deprived inner city London then my trust in the police given the examples I quoted in earlier post would make me think twice about trusting the Met Police if I was reporting a sexual assault for example. Maintaining trust is a difficult job for the police but it is easily lost and will be difficult to get back.

As I've said before, people seem to completely overestimate just how 'highly trained' police officers are for physical confrontation. Unless they are involved in training outwith work, they have very little training at all, and what they are given is often too intricate and over complicated to be effective, the sort of stuff that requires constant practice to master.

As an aside, the training does include the instruction that if they are involved in a situation where their lives or the lives of others are threatened, they can use all measures necessary to mitigate that threat, ie. the gloves are off, kick, punch, bite, use available weapons.

I think a firearms officer getting attacked in such a violent manner within an international airport is pretty much entitled to suggest he felt that threshold had been met.

[Blackmac]

It’s bad. Hope you got a good deal on the flights.

About £1k cheaper than from Scotland and £400 than from London

Sweet deal.

Just watch out for the polis!!

[Biffer]

In my opinion the suspects pose a far greater threat to your daughter and to public safety than the over zealous police officer and if an example is not made of them a terrible message is sent that you can assault a police officer and get away with it.

It looks to me like the police officer got carried away in the heat of the moment here which is pretty excusable given just seconds before kicking the suspect he had punches raining down upon him. He may have been concussed, certainly his decision making was impaired and his survival instincts were heightened. Someone with a resting heart rate and breathing would not have done what he did but I think the aggression of the suspects will prove a mitigating factor. He will genuinely be able to argue that he felt in danger of his life and the lives of his colleagues and at the time of the kick it was not apparent that the situation was under complete control.

Of course the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for the crimes they committed, I never said they shouldn't. Assaulting any member of the emergency services should attract a higher penalty. However behaving in the same manner as the perpetrators because of the reasons you listed above is not excusable. The point I was making in previous post is that the police are trained to precisely not to react in this way for the obvious reasons but also because it lessens the chances of a successful prosecution or indeed being prosecuted themselves!

We have policing based on trust and there are numerous examples, I listed a few including this one, where the actions of the police have eroded trust, particularly in minority groups, and is making policing by consent a more difficult concept to protect. As a white middle aged, middle class male in Scotland I have grown up to trust the police implicitly, I have friends who were serving policemen and I have worked with the police force professionally. However the reality is if I was a young black female from a working class background living in deprived inner city London then my trust in the police given the examples I quoted in earlier post would make me think twice about trusting the Met Police if I was reporting a sexual assault for example. Maintaining trust is a difficult job for the police but it is easily lost and will be difficult to get back.

As I've said before, people seem to completely overestimate just how 'highly trained' police officers are for physical confrontation. Unless they are involved in training outwith work, they have very little training at all, and what they are given is often too intricate and over complicated to be effective, the sort of stuff that requires constant practice to master.

As an aside, the training does include the instruction that if they are involved in a situation where their lives or the lives of others are threatened, they can use all measures necessary to mitigate that threat, ie. the gloves are off, kick, punch, bite, use available weapons.

I think a firearms officer getting attacked in such a violent manner within an international airport is pretty much entitled to suggest he felt that threshold had been met.

I understand that, but I think it's reasonable that we have an expectation that police behave to a higher standard. Otherwise they're just another gang. Yes, they'll fail in that sometimes, but how we deal with those failures and improve on them is important. Kicking someone in the head when they're down and incapacitated is what I expect from someone in a street fight. But police need to be a level above that.

[Conor]

https://x.com/CollinRugg/status/1821938519088230720

NYPD dealing with a guy that allegedly punched a female cop.

[Slick]

Of course the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for the crimes they committed, I never said they shouldn't. Assaulting any member of the emergency services should attract a higher penalty. However behaving in the same manner as the perpetrators because of the reasons you listed above is not excusable. The point I was making in previous post is that the police are trained to precisely not to react in this way for the obvious reasons but also because it lessens the chances of a successful prosecution or indeed being prosecuted themselves!

We have policing based on trust and there are numerous examples, I listed a few including this one, where the actions of the police have eroded trust, particularly in minority groups, and is making policing by consent a more difficult concept to protect. As a white middle aged, middle class male in Scotland I have grown up to trust the police implicitly, I have friends who were serving policemen and I have worked with the police force professionally. However the reality is if I was a young black female from a working class background living in deprived inner city London then my trust in the police given the examples I quoted in earlier post would make me think twice about trusting the Met Police if I was reporting a sexual assault for example. Maintaining trust is a difficult job for the police but it is easily lost and will be difficult to get back.

As I've said before, people seem to completely overestimate just how 'highly trained' police officers are for physical confrontation. Unless they are involved in training outwith work, they have very little training at all, and what they are given is often too intricate and over complicated to be effective, the sort of stuff that requires constant practice to master.

As an aside, the training does include the instruction that if they are involved in a situation where their lives or the lives of others are threatened, they can use all measures necessary to mitigate that threat, ie. the gloves are off, kick, punch, bite, use available weapons.

I think a firearms officer getting attacked in such a violent manner within an international airport is pretty much entitled to suggest he felt that threshold had been met.

I understand that, but I think it's reasonable that we have an expectation that police behave to a higher standard. Otherwise they're just another gang. Yes, they'll fail in that sometimes, but how we deal with those failures and improve on them is important. Kicking someone in the head when they're down and incapacitated is what I expect from someone in a street fight. But police need to be a level above that.

I would have thought the folk that write the rules of engagement have probably considered this. I honestly can’t see how this argument can be made in good faith now that the other videos are out. He had every right to incapacitate the guy in any way he saw fit, including shooting him, which he didn’t do.

[bogbunny]

If the bollox had been shot , not many would complain.

[Calculon]

I think most people realise that armed police at an internationl airport arent going to be following Queensbury Rules when thugs attack them rambo style.

It wasn't much of a kick anyway. This really isn't the incident for having a go at the police

[Uncle fester]

So…… actually how bad is MAN? Just booked flights from there for October half term

It’s bad. Hope you got a good deal on the flights.

About £1k cheaper than from Scotland and £400 than from London

Good deal but the airport is endured at best. Security is complete chaos.

[Biffer]

One of the blessings of living in the UK is our debate about police action is at this level, rather than debating if they were justified in shooting the whole family.

[Openside]

One of the blessings of living in the UK is our debate about police action is at this level, rather than debating if they were justified in shooting the whole family.

Shame isn’t it

[C69]

A Prison sentence?
Are there any fucking cells free?

Tbh, as an aside Manchester Airport is a shit hole, appallingly managed, dirt and filled with rude staff.

I've fucked off going there now and fly from Liverpool instead

Slick, regarding MAN

[Blackmac]

Of course the perpetrators need to be prosecuted for the crimes they committed, I never said they shouldn't. Assaulting any member of the emergency services should attract a higher penalty. However behaving in the same manner as the perpetrators because of the reasons you listed above is not excusable. The point I was making in previous post is that the police are trained to precisely not to react in this way for the obvious reasons but also because it lessens the chances of a successful prosecution or indeed being prosecuted themselves!

We have policing based on trust and there are numerous examples, I listed a few including this one, where the actions of the police have eroded trust, particularly in minority groups, and is making policing by consent a more difficult concept to protect. As a white middle aged, middle class male in Scotland I have grown up to trust the police implicitly, I have friends who were serving policemen and I have worked with the police force professionally. However the reality is if I was a young black female from a working class background living in deprived inner city London then my trust in the police given the examples I quoted in earlier post would make me think twice about trusting the Met Police if I was reporting a sexual assault for example. Maintaining trust is a difficult job for the police but it is easily lost and will be difficult to get back.

As I've said before, people seem to completely overestimate just how 'highly trained' police officers are for physical confrontation. Unless they are involved in training outwith work, they have very little training at all, and what they are given is often too intricate and over complicated to be effective, the sort of stuff that requires constant practice to master.

As an aside, the training does include the instruction that if they are involved in a situation where their lives or the lives of others are threatened, they can use all measures necessary to mitigate that threat, ie. the gloves are off, kick, punch, bite, use available weapons.

I think a firearms officer getting attacked in such a violent manner within an international airport is pretty much entitled to suggest he felt that threshold had been met.

I understand that, but I think it's reasonable that we have an expectation that police behave to a higher standard. Otherwise they're just another gang. Yes, they'll fail in that sometimes, but how we deal with those failures and improve on them is important. Kicking someone in the head when they're down and incapacitated is what I expect from someone in a street fight. But police need to be a level above that.

He was essentially in a street fight. As soon as they started punching him to the head he is entitled to escalate his level of violence to a greater extent than them to subdue the threat. The cop will undoubtedly argue that he wasn't convinced the lad was incapacitated as he seems to have his wits about him and turns to face the cop just before the kick is delivered. Given the threat he will likely claim that he felt that the kick was the least violent option as his other choices were to strike him to the head with his baton or even shoot him.

If we take it to the extreme, police are allowed to do many violent things that would otherwise be considered illegal. They baton people, set dogs on them, taze and even shoot people. It's all pretty ugly and looks extreme when people witness it in glorious technicolour, but usually completely legal.

It's similar to the shock people express when they see police officers punching people they are attempting to restrain. "oh the police shouldn't punch", however it's often a completely legal technique to distract, deaden limbs etc.

I'm not saying the cop is definitely off the hook but he has a solid shout.

[Blackmac]

One of the blessings of living in the UK is our debate about police action is at this level, rather than debating if they were justified in shooting the whole family.

Very much agree, and stand by my assertion that in many countries around the world, this ends with fatalities.

[Blackmac]

I see racial ambulance chaser in chief Aamer Anwar is 'representing' the family and still making out they are the completely wronged party and the police were responsible for the mum's injuries, despite the video showing it was the son.

I say representing, but he has no right to practice law in England so he will merely be attempting to inflame the racial aspect of it so the authorities cave to his demands.

I've dealt with the guy on a number of occasions and he is a truly weak criminal lawyer and despised by most of the legal fraternity in Scotland.

[Slick]

A Prison sentence?
Are there any fucking cells free?

Tbh, as an aside Manchester Airport is a shit hole, appallingly managed, dirt and filled with rude staff.

I've fucked off going there now and fly from Liverpool instead

Slick, regarding MAN

I knew I’d seen that somewhere!

[Biffer]

As I've said before, people seem to completely overestimate just how 'highly trained' police officers are for physical confrontation. Unless they are involved in training outwith work, they have very little training at all, and what they are given is often too intricate and over complicated to be effective, the sort of stuff that requires constant practice to master.

As an aside, the training does include the instruction that if they are involved in a situation where their lives or the lives of others are threatened, they can use all measures necessary to mitigate that threat, ie. the gloves are off, kick, punch, bite, use available weapons.

I think a firearms officer getting attacked in such a violent manner within an international airport is pretty much entitled to suggest he felt that threshold had been met.

I understand that, but I think it's reasonable that we have an expectation that police behave to a higher standard. Otherwise they're just another gang. Yes, they'll fail in that sometimes, but how we deal with those failures and improve on them is important. Kicking someone in the head when they're down and incapacitated is what I expect from someone in a street fight. But police need to be a level above that.

He was essentially in a street fight. As soon as they started punching him to the head he is entitled to escalate his level of violence to a greater extent than them to subdue the threat. The cop will undoubtedly argue that he wasn't convinced the lad was incapacitated as he seems to have his wits about him and turns to face the cop just before the kick is delivered. Given the threat he will likely claim that he felt that the kick was the least violent option as his other choices were to strike him to the head with his baton or even shoot him.

If we take it to the extreme, police are allowed to do many violent things that would otherwise be considered illegal. They baton people, set dogs on them, taze and even shoot people. It's all pretty ugly and looks extreme when people witness it in glorious technicolour, but usually completely legal.

It's similar to the shock people express when they see police officers punching people they are attempting to restrain. "oh the police shouldn't punch", however it's often a completely legal technique to distract, deaden limbs etc.

I'm not saying the cop is definitely off the hook but he has a solid shout.

Not disagreeing. My view is the videos show S group of officers who behave in an exemplary way, but one goes a wee bit over the line.

[bogbunny]

Given the sentencing handed out to rioters this week, what sort of term is punchy boy likely to get?

10-12 years since he clocked 3 or 4 officers?

[C69]

Given the sentencing handed out to rioters this week, what sort of term is punchy boy likely to get?

10-12 years since he clocked 3 or 4 officers?

That's a tad hyperbolic tbh
What is the longest term any of the rioters got?

[Raggs]

Given the sentencing handed out to rioters this week, what sort of term is punchy boy likely to get?

10-12 years since he clocked 3 or 4 officers?

That's a tad hyperbolic tbh
What is the longest term any of the rioters got?

Fairly sure I've seen 30+ months. 20 seems to be the norm for those just riling things up.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

Given the sentencing handed out to rioters this week, what sort of term is punchy boy likely to get?

10-12 years since he clocked 3 or 4 officers?

One suspects there's more a back story to this because in isolation it's just very weird given all the cameras, police and even armed police at an airport it's a super weird place to kick off, even if one is very angry after being exposed to RyanAir. More than happy to let the CPS mull this one and evaluate evidence not in the public domain. And then fingers crossed we don't get bad actors berating the decision as too harsh/lenient, but I'm not exactly confident there.

[Lobby]

Given the sentencing handed out to rioters this week, what sort of term is punchy boy likely to get?

10-12 years since he clocked 3 or 4 officers?

One suspects there's more a back story to this because in isolation it's just very weird given all the cameras, police and even armed police at an airport it's a super weird place to kick off, even if one is very angry after being exposed to RyanAir. More than happy to let the CPS mull this one and evaluate evidence not in the public domain. And then fingers crossed we don't get bad actors berating the decision as too harsh/lenient, but I'm not exactly confident there.

Whatever decision is taken, you can be sure that the Daily Heil, Piers Morgan and their ilk will pretend to be outraged.