A black man has claimed he was racially profiled by Liverpool police who put him in handcuffs during a stop-and-search as he helped his cousin park his car.
Video which was uploaded to social media shows Jared Yankiah, 24, being handcuffed and held against a wall by officers on July 1.
Mr Yankiah said he had been in Anfield for only a few minutes when he was approached by the officers and has been left ‘shaken’ by the encounter.
An investigation into the incident is now ongoing after Mr Yankiah and his father complained to Merseyside Police and Mayor Joe Anderson, who has written to the Police and Crime Commissioner Jane Kennedy about the incident.
Mr Yankiah believes he was stopped because of racial profiling, saying: ‘This kind of thing has happened to me multiple times, but I’ve never got it filmed before. I’ve got dreadlocks and I’m dark skinned – a black man in a predominantly white area.’
A spokesman for Merseyside Police told MailOnline that the complaint is being investigated and that it would be ‘inappropriate’ to comment further.
MailOnline has approached the IOPC police watchdog, the Mayor’s office and the Police and Crime Commissioner’s office for comment.
Video shows Jared Yankiah, 24, being handcuffed and held against a wall by officers in Anfield on July 1. Mr Yankiah said he had been in Anfield for only a few minutes when he was approached by the officers, and has been left ‘shaken’ by the encounter
Mr Yankiah said: ‘I’d been in Anfield no more than a few minutes and was helping my cousin to reverse. I was on the pavement and he was reversing.
‘A black car pulled up behind and waited for him to reverse. When he had parked, the car passed and stopped.
‘An officer got out and asked me what I was up to in this area. He came close to my face and wasn’t wearing masks or gloves.
‘He asked me what am I up to and I said what I was up to, helping my cousin reverse a car. He said why are you in this area – I said I was helping with the car.
‘The other officer got out the car, telling me to stop where I was.
‘They then handcuffed me but I was able to pass my phone to my cousin and told him to film it as they were doing it.’
Mr Yankiah said he believes he was stopped because of racial profiling: ‘I’ve got dreadlocks and I’m dark skinned – a black man in a predominantly white area’
He claims he was searched under Section 1, a regulation under the PACE Act which gives police powers to stop and search people if they have reasonable grounds they have or are in the process of carrying out offences including carrying illegal drugs, a weapon, stolen property or something which could be used to commit a crime.
When carrying out a stop and search, officers are required to document the search, including stating the grounds for the search – information which should then also be provided in written form to the person who has been stopped.
Mr Yankiah said officers told him they had received a ‘public nuisance call’ and has claimed that he was provided with no documentation. But when his father Charles Yankiah, who works in the public sector in Liverpool, contacted Merseyside Police to complain about the incident, he says he was told there was no record of such a call in the area at that time
Mr Yankiah said officers told him they had received a ‘public nuisance call’ and has claimed that he was provided with no documentation.
But when his father Charles Yankiah, who works in the public sector in Liverpool, contacted Merseyside Police to complain about the incident, he says he was told there was no record of such a call in the area at that time.
Charles told of his pain on watching the video, saying he was ‘very upset’ by the incident and it had brought ‘tears to my eyes’.
He added: ‘I’m just fed up of it really. I don’t say it much. But, I have a younger son who will soon be going to university in the city, and if it happens to his older brother it could also happen to him as he is also black.
‘I worry about my family – and I’m a taxpayer – it’s angered me. We’re residents of Merseyside, we’re through and through Liverpudlians and this is just really hurtful.’
Mr Yankiah and his father have lodged a complaint with Merseyside Police and are in the process of receiving legal advice.
Charles also contacted Mayor Anderson, who told the ECHO: ‘I received a complaint to me from Jared’s dad Charles and I asked to see the video footage.
‘My advice was to take legal advice and seek access to body-cam footage if there is any. I am concerned at what I was told about events and that Jared was questioned about what he was doing in the area.
‘I contacted the Police and Crime Commissioner to let her know my concerns and there is now an inquiry underway. I hope it is treated quickly.’
A spokesman for Merseyside Police said: ‘We can confirm we have received a complaint in relation to an incident in Twyford Street, Anfield on 1 July this year.
‘The complaint is currently being investigated and as such it would be inappropriate to comment further at this time.’