Breaking Lockdown Rules, Men In England Attack Police

Illustrations. (Ehimetalor Akhere Unuabona / Unsplash)

JAKARTA - A man has been arrested by the Greater Manchester Police (GMP), after previously fighting with officers conducting raids on the use of masks and violating the provisions of the COVID-19 pandemic protocol at Burnage Lane, Manchester, England last weekend.

The incident, which was busy because of a recording of a police officer getting into a fight with a cafe worker, started with reports of non-compliance with the COVID-19 restrictions that were in effect in the UK.

GMP responded to this report and found the violation at a cafe in Burnage Lane, Manchester. Meanwhile, the cafe is known to make posts on their Facebook account, and says if they remain open amid the imposition of restrictions. This rule only allows cafes and restaurants to serve delivery and take-out orders.

However, the cafe turned out to allow for on-site dining. In fact, according to eyewitness accounts, dozens of people sat inside and outside the cafe, without wearing masks.

"They are open to take home. However, recently we saw people sitting inside. There were about 50-60 people inside and outside. Nobody was wearing a mask, like protesting against the lockdown," a witness told Manchester Evening News as reported by The Sun.

The next events are like the ones on the tape. The police who came to the cafe immediately checked the inside and the cafe workers, it turned out that the people inside were not wearing masks and were gathered in the room. The officer approached a worker and was involved in an argument.

A moment later, two policemen who came to the cafe took the man out of the cafe, while the customers shouted and mocked the police's treatment. Arriving outside the cafe, a policeman got into a fight with the man who was found to be 38, because he refused to be handcuffed.

"GMP is aware of the recordings circulating online and continues to assess all circumstances of the incident, including those we obtained that we examined at the initial stage of the investigation. An officer was injured but did not require hospital treatment," explained GMP in a statement to The Sun.