A police constable whose siblings were involved in a widely publicized altercation with officers at Manchester Airport has been dismissed for making a racist comment about a Black female colleague's braided hair. PC Mohammed Abid, 29, was among six serving officers at Bury police station who were fired for mocking the colleague's appearance and speech.
A misconduct panel determined that Abid's description of PC Y's braided hair as a 'mop' was a racist remark, emphasizing that the hairstyle held cultural significance for her as a Black woman. The panel rejected Abid's denial of making the comment, stating it was targeted, deliberate, and offensive.
PC Y, who is originally from Africa and has been granted anonymity, had filed a complaint in November 2023 about fellow officers mimicking her accent, which left her feeling uncomfortable and bullied. The hearing also found that five other serving officers and two former constables had engaged in gross misconduct by imitating PC Y's accent and failing to report the behavior. These officers claimed they were participating in a shared joke about accents, but the panel dismissed their defenses.
PC Abid's misconduct was deemed sufficiently serious to warrant dismissal without notice, even though he was not directly involved in the accent mimicking. The panel noted that Abid had previously provided character references for one of his brothers, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz, who was involved in the July 2024 Manchester Airport incident, praising his character without disclosing his own pending disciplinary proceedings.
In the July 2024 incident, Mohammed Fahir Amaaz was seen being kicked by an officer in viral footage. Subsequent CCTV footage revealed that Amaaz and his brother Muhammad Amaad had violently resisted arrest after Amaaz allegedly headbutted a tourist. Amaaz was later jailed for assaulting two female officers, though juries failed to reach verdicts on whether he or his brother assaulted a male colleague. The brothers' legal team had highlighted their prior clean records and the fact that several family members were current or former officers with Greater Manchester Police.
A sergeant, Adrian Bick, who supervised the team, received a written warning for misconduct after being cleared of breaching equality and diversity standards. He had made a thoughtless and insensitive comment comparing PC Y to a photograph of a Black fraud suspect, suggesting she could be her mother. The panel accepted that Bick did not intend the comment to be racist.
Greater Manchester Police Deputy Chief Constable Terry Woods stated that no officer should experience discriminatory behavior at work and acknowledged the courage of the officer who came forward. He affirmed the force's commitment to being one that diverse communities can identify with and be proud of.
All dismissed officers will be placed on the College of Policing barred list.