UK: Police Officers Fired Over Stop and Search of Black Athletes

Facts

• Two London Metropolitan Police officers were fired on Wednesday after a disciplinary panel found them guilty of gross misconduct over the stop and search of two Black athletes.¹
• In July 2020, a group of police officers allegedly followed professional sprinters Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos' car and pulled it over outside their home.²
• The pair were separated from their three-month-old son and handcuffed and searched on suspicion of possessing drugs and weapons, but nothing was found.¹
• Alleging that the officers were racist, Williams said they had assumed 'he was involved in some sort of gang, drug, violence problem' because he was 'a black male driving a nice car.'³
• Following the couple's complaint to a police watchdog concerning the incident, five officers involved in the stop and search were accused of gross misconduct.³
• The misconduct panel did not uphold the allegations against three of the officers, though Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were dismissed from the force for lying about having smelt cannabis during the stop.⁴

Sources: ¹Reuters, ²ABC News, ³France 24 and ⁴Al Jazeera.

Narratives

• Pro-establishment narrative, as provided by Independent. The officers' conduct didn't warrant disciplinary action as they were doing their duty — pulling over a car they believed to be driving recklessly and in a suspicious manner. The police were patrolling the area because of a surge in violence during Black Lives Matter protests following the death of George Floyd in the US. Allegations that the officers were racist for following procedure are unsubstantiated.
• Establishment-critical narrative, as provided by Associated Press. Government figures show that policing in London is institutionally racist, since Black individuals are four times as likely to be stopped than White people. The fact that the officers treated these Black athletes less favorably because of their race reflects the experiences of many Black people across the country. UK police must amend their stop and search policies in order to regain public trust and turn the tide on systemic discrimination.