The Metropolitan Police is ‘institutionally racist’ and has not changed since the days of Stephen Lawrence, a black sprinter said today after two constables were found guilty of gross misconduct over a stop-and-search on him and his partner. 

Olympian Ricardo Dos Santos, 28, and Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, 29, made a complaint to the police watchdog saying they were racially profiled during an encounter with a group of officers on July 4, 2020. 

Pcs Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were found guilty of gross misconduct and sacked after it was found they lied about smelling cannabis coming from the couple’s car. 

They were accused of discriminating against the couple alongside fellow Met officers Acting Police Sergeant Rachel Simpson, Pc Allan Casey and Pc Michael Bond. 

The panel found it not proven that Pc Clapham and Pc Franks breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of equality and diversity but they were sacked for gross misconduct. 

In August last year Mr Dos Santos revealed he had been pulled over by police again two years after the original stop and search. He shared posted three clips of the stop on Twitter, including one of an officer withdrawing his extendable baton, and said seven armed police had stopped his £57,000 Tesla.

Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos being stop and searched by Met Police officers on July 4, 2020

Mr Dos Santos and Bianca Williams at Palestra House in central London, where today’s verdicts were delivered 

Speaking out after today’s hearing, Mr Dos Santos said: ‘The allegations made by the police officers that I was guilty of bad driving, threatening violence and drugs were dishonest. I believe these are false allegations and were based on racist stereotypes and show very little has changed in policing in London since the Stephen Lawrence case.

‘If you can’t trust the police to be honest and accept when they have done bad and stereotype black people, what hope is there? I don’t believe that the panel has been brave enough to review what the Casey report has already clearly stated, which is that the Met Police is institutionally racist.

‘This case has taken a big toll on our family and on our careers but it’s crucial that those people who have a voice use it as those people who don’t suffer without being listened to.’

The police followed the athletes as they drove to their west London home from training with their baby son, then three months old, in the back seat of their Mercedes.

The panel heard they followed Mr Dos Santos in their police carrier because of the ‘appalling’ and ‘suspicious’ nature of his driving and were doing their duty when they conducted the stop and search.

The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they were pulled over outside their property, but nothing was found.

Today, the panel found Pc Clapham and Pc Franks had lied about smelling cannabis during the stop and search.

Chairwoman Chiew Yin Jones said their conduct had breached standards of professional behaviour in respect of honesty and integrity and thus amounted to gross misconduct.

The Met officers were part of a territorial support group unit who were tasked with helping to cut priority crime such as gang and knife offences.

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) brought the case against the five officers and said that the detention of Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams was ‘because they were black’ and was ‘excessive, unreasonable and unjustified’.

Speaking out after today’s hearing, Mr Dos Santos said: ‘I don’t believe that the panel has been brave enough to review what the Casey report has already clearly stated, which is that the Met Police is institutionally racist’

The couple were stopped by police when their son (centre) was in the backseat

In August last year Mr Dos Santos revealed he had been pulled over by police again two years after the original stop and search

Pcs Casey and Bond and Ps Simpson were found not to have breached any standards.

The misconduct panel found it proven that Ps Simpson asked Pc Franks if he wanted to take Mr Dos Santos into the vehicle carrier to ‘do a bit of a ferret around his groin and his shoes’ to satisfy himself that everything had been searched, but it was found not proven that she breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of authority, respect and courtesy.

The panel found it not proven that Pc Clapham and Pc Franks breached the standards of professional behaviour in respect of equality and diversity.

IOPC director Steve Noonan said: ‘I want to acknowledge Bianca and Ricardo who, having spoken out about their experience, showed considerable patience and determination while they waited for the outcome of their complaint.

‘The stop and search in which they were both handcuffed, in front of their infant child, was clearly highly distressing for them and also caused widespread community concern about the use of stop and search powers by police.

‘These officers have now been publicly held accountable for their actions. We, at the Independent Office for Police Conduct, decided the officers had a case to answer for their actions and that they should face these misconduct proceedings.

‘We are acutely aware that Bianca and Ricardo’s interaction with police and their feeling of being treated less favourably by officers because of their race, is reflective of the experiences of many black people across London and throughout England and Wales.

‘We know that black people are almost nine times more likely to be stopped and searched by police than white people, and nearly nine times more likely to be searched for drugs – despite a lower find rate of drugs for black people than white people.’

Mr Dos Santos revealed his last experience of being stopped by the police in August last year. 

The athlete was stopped by police on the A40 in west London in the early hours of the morning when officers said they believed he was using his phone while driving.  

He shared posted three clips of the stop on Twitter, including one of an officer withdrawing his extendable baton, and said seven armed police had stopped his £57,000 Tesla 

In a series of TV interviews, he said the latest incident was a second example of racial profiling.

‘If there’s a reason for it, by all means, carry it on, but for suspecting someone to be on the phone… I think they saw me, a person of colour in the car, and it was, ”Let’s see what he does”,’ he told Good Morning Britain.

‘We’ve thought about it because we think it’s more of a harassment thing now because it hasn’t only happened once since 2020, this is now the second time I’ve been stopped since 2020 and the multiple times previously.

‘For me, I’m very cautious of what I do and every time I see a police car, especially late at night. In the back of my mind I’m always thinking… ”Am I going to get stopped?” and it’s honestly very scary.’

Mr Dos Santos revealed he sold his previous cars to be ‘less of a target’.

‘I’m not putting myself in a position for them to stop me,’ he said. ‘I sold the previous cars I had to then get this one because I wanted to stand out a lot less, but again, it’s not the car.

‘I sold the BMW and the Mercedes that we had to get a Tesla, because it’s a car that you see every day. It’s not a car you’d associate with anything.’

When asked on BBC Breakfast how safe he felt driving around London following the incident, he said: ‘I honestly don’t. I don’t feel safe.’