Man Accused of Assaulting Police Officers Claims He Headbutted Stranger in Self-Defense

Strategic Insights -

Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, a 20-year-old man from Rochdale, Greater Manchester, claims he headbutted a stranger in self-defense after the man allegedly made threatening comments and gave him a death threat. Amaaz was at Manchester Airport to collect his mother from an incoming flight from Pakistan when he encountered the man in a Starbucks coffee shop. The man had allegedly made derogatory comments to Amaaz's mother and refused to apologize despite being asked to do so.

As Amaaz and his family walked away, the man made further threats and told Amaaz that he would "smash" him. Amaaz said he felt scared and struck the man twice, headbutting him and punching him in the face. He claimed that he did not know the man was a police officer when they approached him at the T2 car park paystation, and that he would have waited for them to say what they needed him to do if he had known. The customer in Starbucks, Kuwaiti national Abdulkareem Ismaeil, did not want to pursue a complaint against Amaaz as he wanted to get on with his family holiday.

Key Takeaways:

  • Mohammed Fahir Amaaz claims he headbutted a stranger in self-defense after the man allegedly made threatening comments and gave him a death threat.
  • Amaaz was at Manchester Airport to collect his mother from an incoming flight from Pakistan when he encountered the man in a Starbucks coffee shop.
  • The man had allegedly made derogatory comments to Amaaz's mother and refused to apologize despite being asked to do so.
  • Amaaz felt scared and struck the man twice, headbutting him and punching him in the face.
  • Amaaz claims he did not know the man was a police officer when they approached him at the T2 car park paystation.
  • Abdulkareem Ismaeil, the customer in Starbucks, did not want to pursue a complaint against Amaaz as he wanted to get on with his family holiday.
  • Amaaz denies two counts of assault occasioning actual bodily harm, one count of assaulting an emergency worker, and one count of assaulting Mr. Ismaeil.

Statistics:

  • Age of the accused: 20
  • Age of the complainant's mother: 58
  • Number of police officers involved: 3
  • Number of individuals threatened by the man in Starbucks: at least 2 (Amaaz and his mother)
  • Number of times Amaaz struck the man: 2 (headbutted and punched)

Sources:

  • [1] Liverpool Crown Court trial transcript, July 2023.