FUSE ODG COMPLAINS OVER HANDCUFFS
LONDON. — The musician Fuse ODG has made a formal complaint against the Met Police after he was handcuffed by officers.
The London-born Afrobeat artist, whose real name is Nana Richard Abiona, said he was “racially profiled” by four officers in Brixton on 28 February.
On Thursday he shared footage of the incident on Instagram, in which police told him they could smell cannabis.
The Met Police said the complaint was being assessed by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standard.
The force also said a voluntary referral had been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
Writing on Instagram, Fuse ODG said: “I spent six hours in A&E due to how tightly they clamped the cuffs on me... (excruciating pain!), as well as suffering neck and back pain for the following weeks.”
The British-Ghanaian singer said that he chose not to share the video footage earlier in the year, but had since “taken the time to process the incident”.
He was in a car with his manager, Andre Hackett, when officers pulled him from the vehicle and attached handcuffs.
Mr Abiona said: “It’s wild that this is the normal reality for too many of us growing up in this country. But even wilder is that this is still the reality in a post-George Floyd world.
“In the past months, we have seen so many videos of police officers beating up and even kneeling on our black children in the UK. I know because a lot of the time they come to me for help.
“The sad reality is that as a black man living in this system, it doesn’t matter how much money you make or the positive impact that you have on the world, they still only see you as one thing.”
Mr Abiona added: “We are not holding our breaths for justice from this system.”—