Athlete furious as ‘seven’ armed cops pull him over ‘for using phone’ – 2 years after ‘racial profiling’ stop-and-search
A TOP athlete has told of his fury after he was pulled over by “seven” armed cops – two years after he was allegedly racially profiled during a high profile stop-and-search.
Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos, 27, was driving home in his Tesla on the A40 in London in the early hours of this morning when armed police stopped him.
Police have confirmed they pulled over Ricardo in his £57,000 car because they thought he was using his mobile.
The athlete claims it was surrounded by “at least” seven officers.
Video shops one of the cops banging on the window before unfurling his collapsible baton.
Ricardo claims the officer was “aggressive” and was “ready to smash the glass”.
After speaking to him, they let Ricardo go on his way without facing further action.
Scotland Yard has told The Sun that the armed police were on routine patrol when they saw Ricardo and were “concerned” he may have been using his phone at the wheel, so asked him to pull over
They said he failed to pull over when they indicated so they called for back up.
Ricardo claims he pulled over as soon as it was safe to do so.
He and his Team GB athlete girlfriend Bianca Williams were victims of an alleged racist stop-and-search incident back in 2020.
Describing last night’s events on Twitter Ricardo said: “Not surprised I had to go through this again.
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“Whilst driving home last night seven 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.
“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? Two or three max would have been enough.”
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When asked what officers said when they realised he had not been on the phone, he said: “I quote ‘let’s put that matter to bed’ was what they said.
“Nothing better to do with their night, the whole response and the need for backup was over the top.”
Back in April it was revealed that five police officers could face the sack over the 2020 stop-and-search.
The Independent Office of Police Conduct said that an acting sergeant and four PCs will appear before a gross misconduct board.
The couple had been making their way home from race training when cops conducted a stop-and-search in July 2020.
TREATED LIKE ‘SCUM’
They were handcuffed in front of their three-month-old baby during a search for weapons and drugs in West London. None was found.
The Met referred itself to the IOPC after footage was put online by their coach, Olympic sprint ace Linford Christie.
Williams and partner Ricardo dos Santos, 27, believe they were racially profiled and said they had been treated like “scum”.
At the time she said: “I hope this opens the door for the Met to start being more honest about the culture of racism.”
A spokesperson for Met Police told The Sun: “We are aware of footage on social media showing part of a stop on a car.
“At about 04.00hours 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.
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“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.
“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.”