The siblings’ police officer brother was caught on camera fighting with officers Manchester Airport gets fired for comparing a black female colleague’s braided hair to a mop.
PC Mohammed Abid is one of eight current or former officers at Bury police station accused of making fun of the policewoman’s appearance or the way she spoke.
Today a disciplinary panel was told the 29-year-old should be fired after ruling that describing her hair as ‘looking like a mop’ had been a ‘racist comment’.
Fellow PCs can also face the sack regularly ‘imitating’ the colleague’s African accent, which makes her feel ‘uncomfortable’.
In July 2024, there was widespread outrage when Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, then 19, was kicked in the face by a police officer in mobile phone footage that went viral.
However, CCTV footage later showed that he and another brother, Muhammad Amaad, had done so violently resisted attempts to arrest Amaaz for headbutting a tourist at Manchester Airport.
Following a case that sparked accusations of police racism and claims of bipartisan justice, Amaaz was jailed for assaulting two female officers.
But two juries failed to reach a verdict on whether he or Amaad had assaulted a male colleague.
PC Mohammed Abid and other officers used discriminatory language or behavior towards black colleague PC Y at Bury police station (pictured) in Greater Manchester
Muhammad Amaad, 26, (left) and his brother Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, 21, (right) arrive for their trial at Liverpool Crown Court, either side of their lawyer, Aamer Anwar
Lawyers for the men repeatedly stressed that neither brother – both from Rochdale – had had previous brushes with police, and that six members of the family are current or former officers with Greater Manchester Police.
In both trials we heard a glowing character reference from PC Abid, who praised Amaaz’s ‘respectful, gentle and gentle nature’ and ‘commitment to academic roles’.
But jurors were not told he faced disciplinary proceedings over the racism allegation.
A misconduct hearing last month heard how officers from Bury police station imitated the accent of a female colleague.
The policewoman, from Africa, has been granted anonymity and is called PC Y.
PC Abid is said to have spoken to PC Y – who wore her hair in braids at the time – and described it as ‘looking like a mop’ before he ‘smiled and walked away’.
During cross-examination, PC Y said at the hearing: ‘He did ask about the hair, the braids, how long it took.
“He then said, ‘It looks like a mop,’ laughed and walked away.”
He denied making the comment, but the panel today praised her “consistent” record.
Chairman Jonathan Roy said the braided style was ‘culturally significant’ for PC Y as a black woman, and found PC Abid had made the ‘racist comment’.
This was a breach of professional standards relating to equality and diversity, amounting to gross misconduct, it ruled.
PC Abid was also found to have breached standards of professional conduct relating to authority, respect and courtesy, and disgraceful conduct.
In addition, officers from PC Y’s team were accused of ‘imitating’ her African accent for months until she filed a formal complaint in November 2023.
They would copy the way she said words like ‘hello’ and mimic her ‘deep laugh’, which made her feel ‘uneasy’, ‘nervous’ and ‘anxious’.
Giving evidence, the officers insisted they had merely copied how she said ‘okay’ and that this was part of a ‘shared joke’ in which they all made fun of each other’s accents.
But the panel rejected their denials, pointing out that officers who were not part of the same team had said they had heard them use African accents.
“The panel did not accept that mimicking PC Y’s accent was part of friendly office banter,” Mr Roy said.
“It was much more serious than that.”
Five serving officers, PCs Heena Rani, Lucy Granby, Demi Green, Matthew Barlow and Matthew Hill, as well as former PC Jake Holt and a former officer identified only as A, were all found to have breached standards of professional behavior relating to authority, respect and civility, discreditable conduct, equality and diversity and failure to report or challenge.
In both cases their behavior amounted to gross misconduct.
Another officer, Sergeant Adrian Bick, who oversaw the team, was cleared of breaching equality and diversity standards
Out of earshot, he pointed to a photo of a black fraud suspect and said she could be her mother.
PC Green then repeated the comment to PC Y, the hearing was told.
The panel called the comment ‘thoughtless and insensitive’, but accepted that Sergeant Bick did not intend to make a racist comment.
It found that he had breached professional standards of authority, respect and courtesy and disgraceful conduct and ruled that his case amounted to misconduct.
Neither Sergeant Bick nor PC Abid were accused of mocking PC Y’s accent.
As for what action the nine will now face, Mr Reed argued that all serving officers should be dismissed, with the exception of Sergeant Bick, who should be given a written warning.
He said PC Abid’s behavior was “exacerbated” by his understanding of the “cultural significance” of PC Y’s hairstyle.
Although the comment was a “single incident”, there was “not an acceptable level of racism” among police, “especially when it stems from such calculated behavior”, he added.
However, PC Abid’s lawyer, Peter Byrne, argued that while he had shown ‘poor judgement’, he had not ‘targeted’ PC Y on the basis of ethnicity.
Together with lawyers representing the serving officers who had mimicked PC Y’s accent, he argued that PC Abid should instead be given a final written warning.
The panel will meet again to announce what action awaits officers and former officers on Wednesday.
