Old images of injured police officer incorrectly linked to Manchester Airport incident

What is the claim?

In a recent incident at Manchester Airport in the U.K., a male police officer was seen kicking a man on the ground. An officer has since been suspended from duty.

Greater Manchester Police said that three of its officers were injured in the build-up to the incident, including one who had a broken nose. Two images of the injured face of a woman have since been shared on social media, claiming to show the police officer who sustained a broken nose. 

One image shows a side angle of a face with a gash on the nose, while the other captures a front angle with swollen eyes and a bandaged nose.

Users have shared the image with captions like, "It's got to be worth a retweet for this poor Policewoman who was attacked by 6 men in Manchester airport and broke her nose." Another user wrote, "This is what happened to the Female Police Officer at Manchester Airport." Archive links of these posts can be seen here, here, here, and here.

Screenshots of viral social media posts. (Source: X/Facebook/Modified by Logically Facts)

However, the photos of the injured police officer are old and unrelated to the Manchester airport incident.

What are the facts?

We found that the images date back to December 2020 through a reverse image search. Leicestershire Police shared the images on its Facebook and X (formerly Twitter) accounts on December 8, 2020 (archived here and here). The caption on X read: "These are the horrific injuries an officer suffered when assaulted. The injuries left a police officer needing facial surgery after she was assaulted when trying to detain a 16-year-old youth." 

The post on Leicestershire Police's X account. (Source: X/Screenshot/Modified by Logically Facts)

Its Facebook post provided more details on the incident, which it said had taken place in Ashby-de-la-Zouch, Leicestershire, on September 12, 2020. It stated, "The police constable, who is in her 20s, was punched to the nose by the youth who was bigger, stronger and taller than her as she tried to handcuff him in order to carry out a search in September this year." It further noted that the officer was attempting to handcuff the youth when "he used his free hand to punch her to the nose."

"The officer described her face being forced to the side and suffering pain she 'had never experienced before'," the statement added.

Police said that the constable suffered a broken nose, a broken septum, a deep laceration and tear to the left side of her nose and nostril, significant swelling and bruising.

Several news media organizations also reported on the incident. BBC News, in January 2021, shared one of the images and reported that the female constable, PC Maddie Hayes, required 17 stitches after the attack, adding that the youth from Swadlincote, Derbyshire, was given a 12-month community order and told to pay £600 compensation. Birmingham Mail Live shared both images and reported the same details.

Manchester Airport incident

On July 24, 2024, a video showing a police officer kicking and stamping on a man lying on the ground at Manchester Airport went viral on social media. On July 25, Greater Manchester Police (GMP) Assistant Chief Constable Wasim Chaudhry issued a statement (archived here), calling the event "truly shocking."

The statement said officers were attempting to arrest a male suspect at the airport, adding that during their response, "three officers were assaulted."

"One female officer suffered a broken nose and the other officers were forced to the ground and suffered injuries which required hospital treatment," the statement added. 

Four men were later arrested on suspicion of various offences, all of whom have since received bail. The viral footage of the incident has since caused concern among the people of Rochdale, with people gathering for a protest outside the police station on Wednesday and Thursday night. Roads and tram lines were also blocked in Manchester city center. 

The BBC reported that police had confirmed that an officer had been removed from all duties after a "thorough review of further information" of the incident.

The verdict

The above sources show that the images are from 2020. While the pictures show an injured police constable, they are unrelated to the recent incident at Manchester Airport.