PC says she ‘could not walk away’ from Manchester Airport suspect

Walking away from a violent suspect at Manchester Airport was “not an option”, a police officer has told jurors.

Ellie Cook fired her electronic stun gun at Mohammed Fahir Amaaz after the 20-year-old and his brother, Muhammad Amaad, 26, allegedly attacked her and two of her Greater Manchester Police (GMP) colleagues.

Standing trial at Liverpool Crown Court, the brothers, from Rochdale in Greater Manchester, both deny assault and claim they acted in lawful self defence.

Firearms officer Cook told jurors: “We had a violent individual in an international airport who needed to be arrested.”

The court heard that police entered the pay station area of Terminal 2’s car park on 23 July 2024 after receiving reports that a man – fitting Mr Amaaz’s description – had headbutted a member of the public in a Starbucks cafe in the airport’s Arrivals area.

PC Cook, who joined GMP in July 2018 and qualified as authorised firearms officer in May 2024, told the court: “It was very clear what we were going to do.

“I didn’t want to give him a chance of using violence against myself or my colleagues or any other members of the public.”

She said that when she saw her fellow firearms officer Zachary Marsden holding the suspect’s left arm, she took his right arm with unarmed PC Lydia Ward.

PC Cook said she saw Mr Amaad try to punch PC Marsden who in turn tried to “deliver a strike to Mr Amaad to try to get him off – it looked like he missed”.

She said that as she tussled with Mr Amaad she was kicked in the leg, punched on the side of the head and punched again, with her police cap being knocked off.

PC Cook added: “I have never felt a punch like it… it made me stumble slightly and made my vision go quite blurry for about a second.”

The court heard that when she regained her vision she said she saw Mr Amaaz knock PC Ward to the floor with a single punch.

“I didn’t know what we dealing with,” said PC Cook.

“We were in a bad place and I didn’t know what was going to happen next.”

Jurors heard she was punched several times and knocked to the floor.

PC Cook said she knew “physical restraint was not going to be able to detain him”.

Paul Greaney KC, prosecuting, asked her: “An option would have been to just walk away, wouldn’t it?”

She replied: “That was not an option to walk away from such a violent individual at that point.

“I joined the police to protect members of the public and if I walked away I would not have been doing my job.”

PC Cook said she thought there was a risk of PC Marsden losing his firearm, adding, “I didn’t know why they were attacking us, whether it was to get weapons off us or whether it was just an attack.”

Realising she was not as strong as Mr Amaaz, PC Cook said she used her Taser to deliver an “effective shot” at the suspect, who is then said to have fallen backwards while holding on to PC Marsden.

Footage of what followed, with Mr Amaaz lying on the floor, later emerged on social media and went viral.

PC Cook said she saw her colleague kick him but did not believe PC Marsden was aware Mr Amaaz had been shot with a stun gun due to the “loud environment and everything that was going on”.

She said she put her hand on PC Marsden’s body armour and told him “he is on my Taser, I have got him”.

PC Cook said she did not witness a “stamping motion” from PC Marsden which allegedly followed the kick.

After the incident, PC Cook was treated in hospital for swelling to one side of her head and jaw pain.

The trial continues.