Team GB sprinter accuses Met Police of racial profiling after stop and search

The Met has hit back after a black Team GB sprinter and her partner accused them of ‘racial profiling’ for pulling over their Mercedes and said their luxury car was ‘on the wrong side of the road’, with ‘blacked out windows’ and ‘made off at speed’ when they tried to pull them over.

Commonwealth gold medallist Bianca Williams, 26, described the confrontation in Maida Vale, west London on Saturday as ‘awful to watch’.

A video of Ms Williams and Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos, 25, who is also her partner, being stopped and handcuffed by police in front of her three-month-old baby was shared on social media by their trainer and Olympic champion Linford Christie.

Mr Christie has demanded an explanation after footage showed how the athletes appeared to be manhandled by members of the Metropolitan Police during the stop, saying it was proof of ‘institutional racism’ within the force. 

Ms Williams has slammed the police for ‘racial profiling’ – but the Met insists there is no evidence of misconduct on the part of its officers, and justified the incident saying the car had ‘made off at speed’ and was ‘travelling on the wrong side of the road’. The Mercedes also had ‘blacked out windows’, which are only illegal in the UK if they let less than 70 per cent of light through.

Commander Helen Harper said: ‘I understand the concern when incidents like this happen and how they can appear when part of it is filmed without context.

‘Due to the concern raised, we conducted a review of the stop. This included social media footage and bodyworn camera footage of the officers at the scene. We are satisfied that there are no misconduct issues.’ 

Commonwealth gold medallist Bianca Williams, 26, and her Portuguese sprinter partner Ricardo dos Santos, 25, were stopped and searched near their London home, with their three-month-old baby on board

This is the moment the Metropolitan Police stopped and handcuffed two of Linford Christie's athletes outside their home in London

This is the moment the Metropolitan Police stopped and handcuffed two of Linford Christie’s athletes outside their home in London 

A photo shared on Instagram by Ms Williams of the stop and search confrontation. She is to the right of the centre of the photo, with her three-month-old son

A photo shared on Instagram by Ms Williams of the stop and search confrontation. She is to the right of the centre of the photo, with her three-month-old son

Ms Williams told the Times: ‘It’s always the same thing with Ricardo [her partner].

‘They think he’s driving a stolen vehicle, or he’s been smoking cannabis.’

She added: ‘It’s racial profiling. The way they spoke to Ricardo, like he was scum, dirt on their shoe, was shocking. It was awful to watch.’ 

The clip appeared to show two people – a man and a woman – being pulled out of a car in a London street.

The woman says ‘he didn’t do anything’ and officers can later be heard telling the woman to calm down after she worries about her son remaining in the car.

A male voice can be heard shouting in the background towards the end of the clip.

The video, shared on Saturday, was captioned by Mr Christie with the note ‘racist police aren’t just in America’. 

Ms Williams has slammed the police for 'racial profiling' - though the Met insists there is no evidence of misconduct on the part of its officers

Ms Williams has slammed the police for ‘racial profiling’ – though the Met insists there is no evidence of misconduct on the part of its officers

The Olympic champion left a message on Twitter asking for an explanation after the athletes were stopped

The Olympic champion left a message on Twitter asking for an explanation after the athletes were stopped

Mr Christie questioned the reason behind the stop and suggested the police service were guilty of institutional racism

Mr Christie questioned the reason behind the stop and suggested the police service were guilty of institutional racism 

The Metropolitan Police said the stop was necessary as the car 'drove off at speed on the wrong side of the road' and had 'blacked out windows'

The Metropolitan Police said the stop was necessary as the car ‘drove off at speed on the wrong side of the road’ and had ‘blacked out windows’ 

In a message addressed to the Met Police, Mr Christie wrote: ‘Two of my athletes were stopped by the police today, both international athletes, both parents of a three-month-old baby who was with them and both handcuffed outside of their home.

‘Can Cressida Dick or anyone please explain to me what justification the Met Police officers had in assaulting the driver, taking a mother away from her baby all without one piece of PPE and then calling the sniffer dog unit to check the car over.

‘Was it the car that was suspicious or the black family in it which led to such a violent confrontation and finally an accusation of the car smelling of weed but refusing to do a roadside drug test. 

‘This is not the the first time this has happened. (second time in two months) And I’m sure it won’t be the last but this type of abuse of power and institutionalised racism cannot be justified or normalised any longer.’

The text also contained the hashtags BLM and MetPoliceRacist.

Linford Christie, pictured, questioned whether the car was stopped in such a manner because there was a young black family inside the vehicle

Linford Christie, pictured, questioned whether the car was stopped in such a manner because there was a young black family inside the vehicle

Mr Christie  asked Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to explain what happened

Mr Christie  asked Metropolitan Police Commissioner Cressida Dick to explain what happened

Linford Christie has accused the Metropolitan Police of 'institutionalised racism' after two of his athletes were stopped and handcuffed

Linford Christie has accused the Metropolitan Police of ‘institutionalised racism’ after two of his athletes were stopped and handcuffed

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 around the officers’ conduct.

The force said in a statement that a car was stopped in Lanhill Road, Maida Vale, west London, on Saturday afternoon after it was seen driving suspiciously, and a 25-year-old man and 26-year-old woman were searched.

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