A police officer told a court he had not “lost control” at Manchester Airport, after being allegedly assaulted by two brothers while attempting to arrest them.
Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 20, and Muhammad Amaad, 26, from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, are on trial at Liverpool Crown Court accused of assaulting officers in Terminal 2 arrivals on 23 July 2024.
The officers were responding to reports Amaaz had allegedly headbutted a customer at a Starbucks cafe. The pair deny all the charges against them.
On Wednesday, jurors were shown a photograph of injuries to the face of the defendants’ mother, Shameem Akhtar, allegedly caused by PC Zachary Marsden as he attempted to arrest Amaaz.
CCTV footage played to the jury showed Mrs Akhtar knelt near her son, who had fallen to the floor after being Tasered.
Imran Khan KC, defending Amaaz, cross-examined PC Marsden about his tactics and whether the injury was directly related to his actions.
The Greater Manchester Police firearms officer told the court: “I believe I was not the only person who made contact with Mrs Akhtar.
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“I firmly believe that you can’t wholly attribute my actions to those injuries.”
The officer added that he believed Amaad had struck his own mother during the disturbance.
During further questioning, Mr Khan asked: “Did you push the Taser you were holding into Mrs Akhtar at the time she was tending to Mr Amaaz?”
PC Marsden replied: “I did, yes.”
Mr Khan said: “Did you think that was justified?”
PC Marsden said: “In the circumstances, yes, I did. She grabbed my left leg. Using my left hand, I have taken hold of her grip to remove it. She clamped on to my left hand pulling me forward.
“I was being pulled over Mr Amaaz and at risk of falling on top of him and being vulnerable.”
Mr Khan suggested to PC Marsden that the action “was unnecessary” and amounted to a “hard push” by his Taser on Mrs Akhtar’s face.
Mr Khan added: “She was concerned for Mr Amaaz. She was not a threat. She was not interfering with anything you were doing and this was conduct, I suggest, where you have lost control.”
PC Marsden said: “I would deny that.”
Additional mobile phone footage was played to the jury of PC Marsden later using Pava incapacitant spray on a bystander.
PC Marsden told the court he deployed the tactic because events were “beyond verbal reasoning”, because the bystander was effectively “shielding” another man who officers wanted to detain for obstructing their duties.
Mr Khan then asked PC Marsden to justify grabbing another man’s neck and pulling him to the floor.
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PC Marsden replied: “Immediately prior, I had been subjected to the most violent assault of my life. I was now terrified that we are on the tipping point of another volatile situation.
“They were complicit in watching us being violently assaulted. I used pre-emptive force. I was in pain, exhausted and wanted to try the best I could to effect an arrest.”
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Mr Khan also asked whether spraying Pava in the bystander’s face was justified.
PC Marsden said: “My fear was that he would be combative and we would end up with another hostile fight that I didn’t want to happen.”
The trial continues.
