Athletics star Ricardo Dos Santos has said he was pulled over and questioned by armed police just two years after allegedly being racially profiled in a stop and search.
Dos Santos, 27, took to Twitter to post videos of the incident, which showed him being dealt with by officers in London in the early hours of Sunday morning. The Portuguese 400m runner said police had initially stopped him as they believed he was on his phone.
He also alleged that one officer "took out his baton out of frustration ready to smash the glass" after being unable to immediately open the car door of his Tesla. The athlete also said "nothing had changed" after he was pulled over with his partner, UK Athletics' Bianca Williams, and their child in 2020.
"Not surprised I had to go through this again," he said in his series of tweets. "Whilst driving home last night 7 armed @metpoliceuk officers stopped me because they thought I was on my phone whilst driving. At their request I pulled over when safe to do so.
"After I stopped two officers ran towards either side of the car, one fist clenched banged on my window and tried opening the car door. Not knowing how to use a Tesla handle he took out his baton out of frustration ready to smash the glass."
And dos Santos, who competed in the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics last year, questioned why so many officers were involved: "Annoyed that 2 years down nothing has changed but they still manage to over police - why do 7 armed officers need to be present when I was alone? 2 or 3 max would of been enough."
Following the posts, the Met Police released their own statement claiming the vehicle in question failed to stop initially: "We are aware of footage on social media showing part of a stop on a car. At about 04.00 hours on Sunday, 14 August, armed officers were on routine patrol in a marked police vehicle.
"They saw a car travelling eastbound on the A40 Westway and were concerned the driver may be using a mobile phone at the wheel. The officers clearly indicated for the car to pull over but it failed to do so and they called for further assistance. The driver stopped about five minutes later in Orsett Terrace W2, and the officers spoke to him about why they wanted to stop the vehicle."
The statement also implied they have reached out to Dos Santos: "Following the conversation the vehicle was allowed on its way. We have since contacted the driver via Twitter to invite him to contact us if he would like to discuss this matter further."
Dos Santos later replied to that statement: "Hmm yes only showing part [of the footage] because the rest will be with my lawyer," before clarifying why he was able to film the whole ordeal: "Tesla vehicle come equipped with dashcams around the car. Which are in constant use."
Back in July 2020, footage emerged of Dos Santos and his partner being handcuffed, leading to Ms Williams later accusing police of racially profiling them. After the search, details of the couple's three-month-old baby were also stored on a police database called Merlin, which records information on children who become known to the authorities.
In April this year, police watchdog body the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) confirmed that an acting police sergeant and four other force members, are to face a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing over the incident.
