A UK police officer has been filmed kicking and stomping on the head of a man who was lying face down on the ground during an arrest at Manchester Airport earlier this week.
The male officer is seen holding a Taser over the man before kicking him in the head while other officers shout at onlookers to stay back in a video shared widely on social media platforms.
Greater Manchester Police said in a statement that firearms officers had been attacked during an arrest following a fight in the airport terminal on Tuesday.
It said it had referred itself to the Independent Office of Police Conduct (IOPC) over the events and that one officer had been removed from operational duties.
Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry said: "We know that a film of an incident at Manchester Airport that is circulating widely shows an event that is truly shocking, and that people are rightly extremely concerned about.
"The use of such force in an arrest is an unusual occurrence and one that we understand creates alarm.
"One male officer has been removed from operational duties and we are making a voluntary referral of our policing response to the Independent Office of Police Conduct."
The IOPC said it would assess the referral and decide what "further action" is taken.
Officers were called to the airport around 8.25pm (local time) on Tuesday after receiving reports of an altercation involving members of the public, a police spokesperson told BBC.
Three officers were "punched to the ground" in a "violent assault" when they attempted to arrest one of the suspects, they added.
"As the attending officers were firearms officers, there was a clear risk during this assault of their firearms being taken from them."
The three officers were taken to hospital for treatment, with one suffering a broken nose.
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