Two Metropolitan police officers have been sacked after they were found guilty of gross misconduct in relation to their stop and search of two black athletes.
Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, and Olympic sprinter Ricardo dos Santos, were stopped and searched back in 2020.
They then made a complaint to the police watchdog, sharing that they believed they were racially profiled during the "disturbing" incident.
The two officers involved, PC Jonathan Clapham and PC Sam Franks, have now been sacked after a disciplinary hearing revealed that they lied about certain aspects of the occurrence.
Here is a comprehensive look at who Bianca Williams is, what happened to her and her partner back in 2020, and what the laws around stop and search are in the UK.
Who is Bianca Williams?
Bianca Williams, 29, is a British athlete who has represented the nation in a number of competitions.
At the 2014 Commonwealth Games, she competed for England, winning a bronze medal in the 200-metre race and the 4x100-metre relay.
She went on to bring home two more medals as a part of the British team at the International Association of Athletics Federation's World Relays in 2014 and 2015.
Williams is in a relationship with Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos, with whom she shares a son.
WORLD BRONZE MEDALISTS 🥉🥉🥉🥉✨✨✨✨ pic.twitter.com/wxLtZbcvaP
— Bianca Williams (@BiancaaWills) August 27, 2023
What happened to Bianca and her partner?
On July 4, 2020, Williams and her partner were stopped and searched by Metropolitan Police officers while they were travelling home from their training session with their newborn son.
The couple was handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons on them, but nothing was found.
Fellow athlete Linford Christie went on to upload a video taken by Williams, showing them being detained and searched on Twitter, with the caption: "Racist police aren't just in America, #BLM".
Williams went on to speak with newspapers about her experience, accusing the police of treating her and her family with violence, and racially profiling them.
The Met went on to make a statement, saying that Williams's car was on the wrong side of the road and that the driver sped off when she was asked to stop. They also said that the Directorate of Professional Standards had reviewed the footage of the stop and search and deemed that there was no need for concern.
With the increasing public interest around the incident, on July 7, 2020, the Met voluntarily referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).
The disciplinary hearing began in mid-September this year. During the hearings, it was revealed that two of the five officers who were being investigated had lied about smelling cannabis during the incident.
In line with the gross misconduct they were found guilty of, they were sacked.
Talking about the outcome, 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."Noonan went on to share that the officers "have now been publicly held accountable for their actions".
He added: "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. The officers in this case claimed they smelled cannabis in the athletes’ car despite no drugs being found in the search.
“It’s figures like these and cases like Bianca and Ricardo’s which emphasise why Black people report having low trust and confidence in policing."
What are the laws around stop and search in the UK?
In the UK, the police have the right to stop and question members of the public at any time, and decide to search you if they believe that the situation calls for it.
During this interaction, they can ask you your name, what you are doing in the area, and where you are going. You don't have to stop or answer any of the questions, and if the officers have no other reason to suspect you, then your refusal to answer cannot be used as a reason to search or arrest you.
A police officer can decide to stop and search you if they believe they have "reasonable grounds" to suspect that you are carrying stolen property, illegal drugs, weapons, or something that could be used for a crime.
Without "reasonable grounds", you can only be stopped and searched if a senior police officer has approved this, which would require them to suspect that serious violence could take place, you're either carrying a weapon or have used one, or you're in a specific location or area of interest.
Before you're searched a police officer has to tell you:
- Their name
- Their police station
- What they are expecting the search to discover
- Why they want to search you
- Why they have the legal permission to search you
- That you have the right to have a copy of the search
A police officer can ask you to remove your jacket, coat, or gloves. However, if they ask you to take off anything you are wearing for religious reasons, such as a veil or turban, they have to take you somewhere out of public view. And, if they want to remove more than your jacket, coat, and gloves, the police officer has to be the same sex as you.
Lastly, a police community support officer (PCSO) has to be in uniform when they stop and question you. Meanwhile, a police officer could be wearing plain clothes, but they have to show you their warrant card before the stop and search.
