Two London police officers were fired on Wednesday after being found guilty of harmful practices in July 2020 when they searched for and detained Portuguese athlete Ricardo dos Santos and British athlete Bianca Williams, who complained of racial discrimination.
London’s Metropolitan Police decided to dismiss the officers on Wednesday, following the conclusions of a disciplinary committee that Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks lied when they said they noticed the smell of cannabis when the couple was arrested on July 4, 2020. operation.
The two athletes complained of racial discrimination and claimed that they were targeted by police because of their skin color, something now confirmed by the disciplinary committee, after the five officers denied acting out of racism, rather because of the ‘suspicious behavior’. ” of the Portuguese athlete.
The other three officers were acquitted.
The 27-year-old Portuguese athlete, a 400-meter specialist, and the 28-year-old British sprinter, who are married, were arrested in West London on July 4, 2020, while riding in a car with their three-month…old baby , and were handcuffed and searched by the police, who discovered nothing irregular.
The Independent Office for Police Behavior (IOPC) launched a major investigation into the extent of racial discrimination in British policing in July 2020, in the wake of the ‘Black Lives Matter’ movement.
As part of the anti-racist demonstrations sparked around the world by the death of George Floyd, an American choked to death by a police officer in the United States, several cases of possible police violence against minorities have sparked outrage in Britain.
Former Scotland Yard Commissioner Cressida Dick announced her resignation in February 2022 following a negative IOPC report exposing racist, misogynistic and discriminatory behavior within the police force, with the Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan, welcoming the then-launched investigation .
Source: DN
