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Two Metropolitan Police officers have been sacked for gross misconduct over the “racist” stop and search of Black athletes Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos.
Olympic sprinter Mr Dos Santos, 28, accused officers of detaining him for “DWB, driving while black” after he was stopped along with his partner, Team GB athlete Ms Williams, 29.
Police followed them as they drove to their west London home from a training session with their son, then three months old, in the back seat of their Mercedes. Traumatic footage of the incident on 4 July 2020 showed Ms Williams in distress as Mr Dos Santos was pulled from the driver’s seat by officers.
The couple was handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they were pulled over outside their property, but nothing was found.
They later made a complaint to the police watchdog saying they were racially profiled during the encounter. On Wednesday, a disciplinary hearing concluded the behaviour of Pc Jonathan Clapham and Pc Sam Franks amounted to gross misconduct after they lied about smelling cannabis during the stop and search.
Chairwoman Chiew Yin Jones said their conduct had breached standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity and thus amounted to gross misconduct. The Met officers, who were part of a territorial support group unit who were tasked with helping to cut gang and knife crime, were dismissed without notice.
However the panel found it not proven that Pc Clapham and Pc Franks breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of equality and diversity.
Three other officers, acting Police Sergeant Rachel Simpson, PC Allan Casey and PC Michael Bond, also denied allegations that they breached police standards over equality and diversity during the stop and search. They were found not to have breached any standards.
The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) brought the case against the five officers and said that the “excessive, unreasonable and unjustified” detention of the athletes was “because they were black”.
Speaking after the hearing, Mr Dos Santos said “very little” had changed in London policing since the racist murder of Black teenager Stephen Lawrence in 1993, after which a public inquiry concluded the Met was institutionally racist.
A damning review by Baroness Louise Casey earlier this year also concluded the force was institutionally, racist, misogynistic and homophobic.
He added: “We’ve supported the IOPC case over the past three years and it’s highlighted what most black people are far too aware of regardless of their background, education and employment. They are nine times more likely to be stopped by the Met and three times more likely to be handcuffed.
“The allegations made by the police officers that I was guilty of bad driving, threatening violence and drugs were dishonest. I believe these are false allegations and were based on racist stereotypes and show very little has changed in policing in London since the Stephen Lawrence case.
“If you can’t trust the police to be honest and accept when they have done bad and stereotype black people, what hope is there? I don’t believe that the panel has been brave enough to review what the Casey report has already clearly stated, which is that the Met Police is institutionally racist.”
All five officers gave evidence over the course of the misconduct hearing in which they denied accusations of racism.
Karon Monaghan KC, for the IOPC, told the panel at the start of the hearing that the watchdog’s case alleged there is “institutional discrimination” in the Met Police.
Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos outside Palestra House (James Manning/PA)
(PA Wire)
They cited reports that black people are much more likely to be stopped and searched in London, adding that black people are routinely treated with “more suspicion and hostility” by police officers and “stereotyped as criminal”.
Giving evidence, Mr Dos Santos accused the officers of detaining him for “DWB, driving while black”.
The sprinter told the panel that he had been afraid for the safety of his family during the incident, following “traumatic experiences” as a young black person who had been stopped by police on multiple occasions.
Ricardo Dos Santos (right) expressed frustration at being stopped by police while driving in west London (Tim Goode/PA)
(PA Archive)
He told the hearing he believes he is stereotyped as a black man driving a “nice car” as someone who “must be engaged in criminality”, adding that he was stopped nine times within four weeks of buying a car in 2018.
When shown body-worn footage of him mocking and swearing at the officers, he accepted his behaviour, adding: “Everybody deals with trauma differently.”
At the hearing, Ms Williams cried as she watched footage of Mr Dos Santos getting pulled from the driver’s seat to the roadside and handcuffed.
She denied suggestions her partner could have acted differently to avoid police attention, insisting: “He can’t change the colour of his skin.”
The panel heard the officers followed Mr Dos Santos in their police carrier because of the “appalling” and “suspicious” nature of his driving and were doing their duty when they conducted the stop and search.
However Ms Monaghan told the panel that these were “exaggerated” descriptions that did not “reflect the reality” of Mr Dos Santos’ driving, noting that he was not speeding around corners, driving through red lights or skidding on the road and he indicated before all of his turns.
Bianca Williams outside Palestra House, central London, for the gross misconduct hearing of five Metropolitan Police officers (Lucy North/PA)
(PA Wire)
The Mayor of London said the case raises “serious questions” about the Met’s use of stop and search and the use of force against Black Londoners.
Sadiq Khan added: “The findings of the disciplinary hearing will anger and alarm many Londoners, and just shows the scale of the challenge the new leadership team have to change the culture of the Met.
“It is vital lessons are learned from this incident and I will support and hold the Met and the Commissioner to account on delivering the urgent improvements needed so that every Londoner can feel protected and served.”
The IOPC urged victims of police discrimination to speak up, adding that the Met needs to “work hard” to restore the trust and confidence of Black communities.
Paying tribute to the athletes’ “patience and determination”, IOPC director Steve Noonan said: “We are acutely aware that Bianca and Ricardo’s interaction with police and their feeling of being treated less favourably by officers because of their race, is reflective of the experiences of many Black people across London and throughout England and Wales.”
He added: “We would encourage anyone who feels they have been mistreated or discriminated against by the police to exercise your right to complain. It is only by speaking up, that you can make your voice heard.”
Following the hearing, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner Matt Ward issued an apology to the athletes.
“While the panel accepted the officers’ version of events in most matters, including that their decisions were not motivated by ethnicity, it found that PC Clapham and PC Franks lied about smelling drugs on stopping the vehicle,” he said.
“Honesty and integrity are at the core of policing and, as the panel has concluded, there can be no place in the Met for officers who do not uphold these values.
“Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams deserved better and I apologise to them for the distress they have suffered.”
He added: “I remain confident that the Met can and will learn from the experiences of Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos and work alongside communities to deliver fair and effective stop and search for all Londoners.”
