A black sprinter today said he no longer felt safe driving in London and vowed to take legal action against the Met Police after he was pulled over by ‘seven’ armed officers – two years after a ‘racially profiled’ stop and search.
Ricardo Dos Santos, 27, was stopped by police on the A40 in west London in the early hours of Sunday when officers said they believed he was using his phone while driving.
The Portuguese athlete 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 2020, he and his Team GB athlete girlfriend, Bianca Williams, were pulled over by the Met when they were travelling with their baby in Maida Vale.
In a series of TV interviews this morning, Mr Dos Santos said he believes 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.
Ricardo Dos Santos, 27, was stopped by police on the A40 in west London in the early hours of Sunday when officers said they believed he was using his phone while driving
He 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
The athlete added that ‘nothing had changed’ two years after he was pulled over with his partner, Bianca Williams (pictured), and their child
How Mr Dos Santos and Bianca Williams were detained two years ago while in a car with their baby
Mr Dos Santos’ latest interaction with police comes just two years after the Olympian and his partner, British athlete Bianca Williams, were stopped while driving with their baby in Maida Vale, west London.
The couple accused the force of ‘racially profiling’ them after they were handcuffed and separated from their baby in footage widely shared on social media.
An acting police sergeant and four police constables are facing gross misconduct disciplinary hearings over the 2020 incident, in which the couple were handcuffed and details of their baby stored on a police database.
Police officers at the scene of the stop and search in Lanhill Road, Maida Vale, west London, in July 2020
Asked by host Rob Rinder if he would take further action, the athlete replied: ‘We will.
‘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 at all.
“The first thing I said to myself when I saw the car was, ”Is it going to happen?”
“And every time I do see a police car when I’m driving I think, ‘Is it going to happen this time? Will it happen this time? When is it going to happen again?”‘
It comes two years after the Olympian and his partner, British athlete Bianca Williams, were stopped while driving with their baby in Maida Vale, west London, and accused the force of racially profiling them.
An acting police sergeant and four police constables are facing gross misconduct disciplinary hearings over the 2020 incident, in which the couple were handcuffed and details of their baby stored on a police database.
And the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) said yesterday it was assessing the information available after receiving a referral from the Met over this weekend’s stop.
A spokesman said: ‘We are aware of this matter and the footage posted on social media over the weekend, and a referral has been received from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. We will be assessing the information to make an informed decision on the level of our involvement.’
Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos said he was pulled over for a second time by seven armed police officers while driving home in London
Mr Dos Santos replied to the Met statement: ‘Hmm yes only showing part because the rest will be with my lawyer. Also no mention of why I took a little longer to stop’
A police car pulls in front of Mr Dos Santos as he drives in London on Sunday morning
Mr Dos Santos told the BBC his phone had been between his thighs, as he accused the force of ‘over-policing’.
The Met said extra reinforcements had been called because the car had failed to pull over, but Mr Dos Santos claimed he felt unsafe to stop so continued driving for five minutes until there was a suitable place.
‘I missed the turn to come out and I felt there wasn’t anywhere safe enough to stop because the flyover is pretty dark so I took the next exit… and stopped at the next available street. I parked up and waited for them to come to me,’ he said.
‘For my safety, and based on my previous incidents with them [police], I thought that the best place to stop was somewhere lit up and with the possibility of witnesses.’
He told Radio 5 Live he felt that nothing had changed since he was stopped two years ago, and he feared one of the officers planned to smash the window of his car in frustration.
The athlete, who competed in the 400m race at last year’s Olympics in Tokyo, also revealed this was the third time he had been stopped by police whilst driving in two years.
In response to the incident on Sunday, the Met confirmed that the stop took place as they were ‘concerned the driver may be using a mobile phone at the wheel’. Pictured, footage captured by Mr Dos Santos
He tweeted after the stop: ‘Not surprised I had to go through this again. Whilst driving home last night seven armed Met Police officers stopped me because they thought I was on my phone. 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.
‘Annoyed that two years down nothing has changed but they still manage to over police.’
A Met spokesman said the incident had now been recorded as a public complaint and the force was awaiting a response from the IOPC.
Mr Dos Santos said he would not have direct contact with the Met but would leave it to his lawyer to deal with.
Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams pictured during an interview with the BBC following the first incident in Maida Vale, west London, on July 4, 2020
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-11115531/Black-sprinter-Ricardo-Dos-Santos-vows-legal-action-against-Met.html
