A man who assaulted two female police officers during a violent confrontation at Manchester Airport has been sentenced to three-and-a-half years in prison after a court heard the attack left one officer with a broken nose and another traumatised.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, from Rochdale, was sentenced at Liverpool Crown Court after being convicted of assaulting police officers PC Lydia Ward and PC Ellie Cook, as well as a member of the public, during the incident at Terminal 2 in July 2024.
The confrontation gained widespread attention after footage showing part of the incident was shared online. Prosecutors later presented additional CCTV footage to the jury showing events leading up to the arrest, including Amaaz allegedly headbutting a Starbucks customer and attacking officers who responded.
The court heard Amaaz initially resisted arrest before launching what prosecutors described as a “prolonged and unprovoked” attack.
PC Ward, who suffered a broken nose in the assault, told the court the incident had left a lasting impact.
“What you did was cowardly,” she said in a statement read during sentencing.
She said she had been “blindsided” by the attack and described the moment she was punched as one in which she feared for her safety.
PC Cook said the incident had caused significant emotional trauma and led her to give up her role as a firearms officer.
“I am traumatised by the incident and what you did that day,” she said.
“It pains me to say this, but because of what you have done to me, I have decided to give up being a firearms officer.”
The court heard Amaaz had argued he acted in self-defence during the confrontation.
However, Judge Neil Flewitt KC described him as the aggressor, saying the assaults were “prolonged and unprovoked”.
The sentencing follows the conclusion of a separate legal process involving allegations that a police officer kicked Amaaz while he was on the ground. The matter remains subject to an investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Greater Manchester Police Chief Constable Sir Stephen Watson said officers had responded to a report of a man being assaulted at the airport and were met with violence while carrying out their duties.
“Our officers were responding quickly to precisely the sort of outrageous criminal behaviour that rightly offends the public.”
He said assaults on police officers were “sadly all too common”, with dozens of officers attacked every week across Greater Manchester.
The court case concluded after two juries were unable to reach verdicts on allegations relating to a male police officer involved in the incident, with prosecutors deciding not to pursue a further trial.
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