The Metropolitan Police is 'institutionally racist' and has not changed since the days of Stephen Lawrence, a black sprinter said today after two constables were found guilty of gross misconduct over a stop-and-search on him and his partner.
Olympian Ricardo Dos Santos, 28, and Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, 29, made a complaint to the police watchdog saying they were racially profiled during an encounter with a group of officers on July 4, 2020.
Speaking out after today's hearing, Mr Dos Santos said: '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.
READ MORE - Two serving Met Police officers 'are still in their jobs despite facing misconduct probe for using prostitutes' Advertisement Speaking today, Mr Dos Santos noted that black people were nine times more likely to be stopped and searched in London. Today, the panel found PC Clapham and PC Franks had lied about smelling cannabis during the stop and search.
Speaking out after today's hearing, Mr Dos Santos said: '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'In August last year, Mr Dos Santos revealed he had been pulled over by police again two years after the original stop and searchThe misconduct panel found it proven that PS Simpson asked PC Franks if he wanted to take Mr Dos Santos into the vehicle carrier...
'These officers have now been publicly held accountable for their actions. We, at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, decided the officers had a case to answer for their actions and that they should face these misconduct proceedings. 'We've thought about it because we think it's more of a harassment thing now because it hasn't only happened once since 2020, this is now the second time I've been stopped since 2020 and the multiple times previously.
'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.
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