Police watchdog says it won’t investigate Met officers for stopping black Olympic athlete Ricardo Dos Santos while driving in London – two years after he and his partner were ‘racially profiled’ on stop-and-search
- Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos was arrested by seven armed police officers
- The Met said officers were ‘concerned that the driver may have been using a cell phone’
- Dos Santos said an officer took his baton out of his pocket “ready to smash the glass out of frustration” after not knowing how to open the car door of his Tesla
- The Independent Bureau of Police Behavior has decided not to investigate
- The athlete said “nothing had changed” two years after he and his partner, Bianca Williams, and their child were detained by police officers.
The police watchdog has said it is not required to investigate an incident in which a black Olympic athlete was detained by seven armed police officers two years after he was allegedly racially profiled during an arrest and search.
Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos said he was stopped for the second time by seven armed police officers while driving home in London on Sunday 14 August.
The Olympian published a series of tweets and video footage of him being detained and questioned by police on Sunday morning.
The Met took the footage as a formal complaint and referred it to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) due to the public interest surrounding it.
But the watchdog has now decided not to investigate the matter, which is now being referred back to the Met for investigation.
The force said in a statement: “On Sunday, August 14, around 4 a.m., armed officers were on routine patrol in a flagged police vehicle.
“They saw a car heading east on the A40 Westway and were concerned that the driver was using a mobile phone behind the wheel.
“The officers clearly indicated that the car had to stop, but they couldn’t and they called for further help.
“The driver pulled up at Orsett Terrace W2 about five minutes later and the officers spoke to him about why they wanted to stop the vehicle.
“After the conversation, the vehicle was allowed to continue on its way.”
After the incident, Mr Dos Santos said officers thought he was on the phone when they stopped him, claiming an officer took his baton out of his pocket “ready to smash the glass out of frustration” after not knowing how to the door had to be open Tesla.
He added that “nothing had changed” two years after he was arrested with his partner, Bianca Williams, and their child.
Mr Dos Santos said in a series of tweets: “I’m not surprised I had to go through this again.
Dos Santos claimed an officer took his baton out of his pocket ‘ready to smash the glass out of frustration’ after he didn’t know how to open the car door of his Tesla
Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos said he was stopped for the second time by seven armed police officers while driving home in London
The athlete added that ‘nothing had changed’ two years after he was detained with his partner, Bianca Williams (pictured), and their child
“As I was driving home last night, seven armed @metpoliceuk officers stopped me because they thought I was on the phone while driving. At their request, I stopped when it was safe to do so.
“After I stopped, two officers ran to either side of the car, a clenched fist banged on my window and tried to open the car door.
Not knowing how to use a Tesla handle, he grabbed his baton in frustration, ready to break the glass.
“Outraged that nothing has changed after two years, but they still manage to outdo the police. Why should there be seven armed officers if I was alone. Two or three max would have been enough.’
Mr Dos Santos said ‘two or three’ police officers would have been ‘enough’, instead of seven
He later said he only shared some of the images on social media, the rest with his lawyer.
In July 2020, images of Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos being searched and handcuffed were widely shared on social media, with Ms Williams later accusing police of racially profiling them.
After the search, details of the couple’s three-month-old baby were also stored in a police database called Merlin, which is used to record information about children who become known to authorities.
In April, the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC), said an acting police sergeant and four police officers will all face a gross disciplinary hearing over the incident.
A police car stops in front of Mr Dos Santos as he drives through London on Sunday morning
In response to the incident on Sunday, August 14, the Met confirmed that the arrest took place because they feared the driver may have been using a cell phone while driving. Pictured, images captured by Mr. Dos Santos
Mr Dos Santos and Mrs Williams pictured during an interview with the BBC following the first incident in West London’s Maida Vale on 4 July 2020