Two British police officers have been fired after being found guilty of gross misconduct over the stop and search of two Black athletes in a case that had raised accusations of racial profiling.
Constables Johnathan Clapham and Sam Franks were dismissed at a misconduct hearing on Wednesday after being found to have lied about smelling cannabis during the stop. They were also found to be in breach of honesty standards.
Allegations of breaches of police standards over equality and diversity were not proven against three other officers.
In July 2020, British sprinter Bianca Williams, 29, and her partner, Portuguese 400m runner Ricardo dos Santos, 28, were followed and pulled over by the police for allegedly suspicious driving in London’s Maida Vale.
Both athletes were handcuffed and their car searched for weapons and drugs after officers said they could smell cannabis. They were also separated from their three-month-old son, but nothing was found, and no arrests were made.
London’s Metropolitan Police said an initial review of the incident did not show that the five officers involved acted in a way that warranted disciplinary action.
Source: Aljazeera.com
