Met Police officers sacked over athlete stop and search handed jobs back after winning appeal

by Admin
October 4, 2024

Two police officers sacked over a stop and search involving British athlete Bianca Williams have been handed their jobs back.

It comes after they won an appeal against a ruling that they lied by saying they could smell cannabis during a stop and search of Ms Williams and her partner, Olympic sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos, in 2020.

Former Metropolitan Police officers Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were dismissed in October last year after a disciplinary panel found they had lied about smelling the drug during the stop.

The finding has been overturned by the Police Appeals Tribunal, which found the original decision was “irrational” and “inconsistent”.

Appeals Tribunal chairman Damien Moore said the officers were “dedicated, hard-working and much respected” and their reputations had been “ruined” by the original findings.

“Both officers did not lie,” he said.

“Both officers will now be reinstated to the Met Police. They should receive back-pay.”

During the 2023 disciplinary hearing, the Independent Office For Police Conduct (IOPC) suggested all four officers at the scene had lied about smelling cannabis, but the panel upheld the allegations only against PCs Clapham and Franks.

Mr Moore continued: “It was irrational to conclude that two officers were telling the truth, and two were lying.”

Speaking after the hearing, Mr Dos Santos said he now planned to challenge the outcome of the “disappointing” decision in the civil courts.

Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos complained to the police watchdog, saying they were racially profiled during a “disturbing” stop and search.

The police followed the athletes as they travelled home from training in their Mercedes with their baby son – who was three months old at the time – on 4 July 2020.

The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they were pulled over outside their property.

But nothing was found.

Three other officers were cleared of any wrongdoing.

Hugh Davies, representing Mr Clapham, said the officers had “every reason to suspect criminality” when they pulled Mr Dos Santos over.

Mr Davies said another officer at the scene had smelled cannabis but was not found to have lied.

The IOPC brought the case against the officers and previously said the detention of Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams was “because they were black” and was “excessive, unreasonable, and unjustified”.

After today’s decision, an IOPC spokesperson said: “We note the outcome today of the officers’ appeal and await the written decision by the Police Appeals Tribunal.”

Rick Prior, chairman of the Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents rank-and-file officers in the force, said “justice has been served” that the officers had been “fully exonerated” and their reputations have “rightly been restored”.

He also criticised the IOPC, describing the decision as a “damning indictment” of the watchdog.

Mr Prior said: “Who holds them [the IOPC] to account for what was a political witch hunt against two hard-working police officers?

“Our colleagues have been dragged through hell and back for four years. For doing nothing more or less than the job the public of London expect us to do.

“It remains astonishing that officers lost their jobs for doing their job.”

Jules Carey of legal fim Bindmans LLP, which represents Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos, said: “It is unsurprising that the decision of the Misconduct Panel was overturned.

“The panel got itself into a complete mess as soon as they settled on the bizarre view that the streets of London smell of cannabis.

“The complaint system has failed again, and it will be for the civil courts to address this result.”

The Met Police came under heavy criticism after footage of the stop was posted on social media, showing a distressed Ms Williams concerned about being separated from her baby.