A disciplinary panel has found PC Mohammed Abid and seven other Greater Manchester Police officers guilty of gross misconduct for the racist treatment of a black female colleague. PC Abid is the brother of two men previously involved in the violent July 2024 clashes at Manchester Airport.
The 'mop' comment and PC Mohammed Abid's gross misconduct
PC Mohammed Abid, a 29-year-old officer based at the Bury police station, has been found to have breached professional standards regarding equality, diversity, and respect. The ruling follows testimony from a black female officer, referred to as PC Y, who stated that PC Mohammed Abid questioned her braided hair before remarking that it looked like a "mop" and laughing.
Although PC Mohammed Abid denied the allegation, the disciplinary panel praised the consistency of PC Y's account.. Chairman Jonathan Roy explicitly categorized the remark as a racist comment, noting that the braided hairstyle held significant cultural importance for PC Y as a black woman.
Seven Bury station officers found guilty of mimicking African accents
Beyond the actions of PC Mohammed Abid, seven other current or former officers at the Bury police station were found to have committed gross misconduct. according to the report, PCs Heena Rani, Lucy Granby, Demi Green, Matthew Barlow, Matthew Hill, former PC Jake Holt, and another former officer identified as "A" spent months mocking PC Y's appearance and mimicking her African accent.
The officers involved attempted to defend their behavior as a "shared joke" and claimed they were only copying how PC Y said the word "ok." However, the panel rejected these claims, citing reports from officers outside the immediate team who had also heard the group imitating African accents. PC Y testified that the behavior left her feeling anxious, nervous, and uncomfortable.
The link to Mohammed Fahir Amaaz and the July 2024 airport clashes
The case against PC Mohammed Abid is further complicated by his family ties to a high-profile criminal case. PC Mohammed Abid is the brother of Muhammad Amaad and Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, who were filmed in violent confrontations with police at Manchester Airport in July 2024. Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was subsequently jailed for assaulting two female officers after CCTV showed he and his brother resisted arrest following an incident where Amaaz headbutted a tourist.
During the trial at Liverpool Crown Court, solicitor Aamer Anwar noted that six members of the family were either current or former Greater Manchester Police officers. This familial connection highlights a deep integration between the family and the force, even as members of that same family were convicted of assaulting its officers.
Sergeant Adrian Bick's 'thoughtless' remark about a fraud suspect
The disciplinary proceedings also scrutinized Sergeant Adrian Bick, who supervised the team at the Bury station. The panel heard that Sergeant Adrian Bick pointed to a photograph of a black fraud suspect and suggested the woman could be PC Y's mother. This comment was later relayed to PC Y by PC Demi Green.
While the panel described the remark as "thoughtless and insensitive," they concluded that Sergeant Adrian Bick did not intend for the comment to be racist. As a result, he was found guilty of misconduct rather than gross misconduct, meaning he does not face the same immediate threat of dismissal as the eight other officers .
The undisclosed disciplinary status of PC Abid's character reference
A significant point of contention remains regarding the transparency of the legal process during the trial of the airport suspects. As reported, PC Mohammed Abid provided a character reference for his brother, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, describing him as "gentle" and "soft-spoken."
However, the jurors at Liverpool Crown Court were never informed that PC Mohammed Abid was facing his own disciplinary proceedings for racism at the time the reference was used . This raises a critical question about whether the charactr of the witness was properly vetted before being presented to the court to mitigate the sentencing of a violent offender .
Comments 0