Team GB sprinter accuses police of ‘racial profiling’
ATEAM GB sprinter is considering legal action against the Metropolitan Police after accusing officers of racially profiling her and her partner in a stop and search.
Commonwealth Games gold medallist Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese 400m sprinter, were stopped in west London on Saturday.
Ms Williams, whose three-monthold son was in the car during the incident, called it an “awful experience” and believes the couple were targeted because they are black and drive a Mercedes.
“They [the officers] said there’s a lot of youth violence and stabbings in the area and that the car looked very suspicious,” she told BBC Radio 4’s Today programme.
“They see a black male driving a nice car, an all-black car, and they assume that he was involved in some sort of gang, drug, violence problem.”
Scotland Yard said a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were searched when a car was stopped in Lanhill Road, Maida Vale, on Saturday afternoon. The force said the vehicle was stopped after it was seen driving suspiciously, including on the wrong side of the road, and that the driver had sped off when asked to stop.
But this account was rejected by Ms Williams, who said the car was “never” on the wrong side of the road.
“That is false, we were never on the wrong side of the road. We were driving down through single-width roads,” she told the programme. “We only found out about us driving on the wrong side of the road once they tweeted in on Saturday afternoon.
“This isn’t the first or fourth or fifth time – it must be about the 10th [her partner has been stopped by police], it’s getting ridiculous.”
She said “Yes, 100%” race is the reason why he gets stopped, adding: “It’s just horrible, it’s an outrageous assumption for them to make.
“We are planning on taking it down the legal route. I feel very hurt by their actions, and to witness my partner being taken away and for me to be taken away from my son, my heart hurts. It’s an awful experience.”
Scotland Yard said officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards have reviewed footage from social media and officers’ bodycams and were satisfied there was no concern over the officers’ conduct.
Commander Helen Harper said: “Due to the concern raised, we conducted a review of the stop. This included social media footage and body-worn camera footage of the officers at the scene. We are satisfied that there are no misconduct issues.”