Bianca Williams search: Met Police officers deny gross misconduct

Five Metropolitan Police officers have denied gross misconduct at a disciplinary hearing over the stop and search of athlete Bianca Williams.

The British sprinter and her partner Ricardo dos Santos were stopped in their car in west London in July 2020.

They were handcuffed, searched for weapons and drugs and separated from their three-month-old son, but nothing was found and no arrests were made.

The pair have publicly accused the force of racism over the incident.

Acting Sgt Rachel Simpson and PCs Allan Casey, Jonathan Clapham, Michael Bond and Sam Franks all face allegations that they breached police standards regarding equality and diversity during the stop and search.

Appearing in person at the hearing in central London, they told the panel they believed their behaviour did not amount to gross misconduct.

Acting Sgt Simpson and PCs Clapham, Bond and Franks are accused of breaching standards over use of force and respect.

PCs Casey, Clapham, Bond and Franks also face allegations over the accuracy of their account of the stop.

Bianca Williams has been critical of former Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick's comments about the stop

The hearing is due to last until 27 October when an independent panel will determine whether to uphold the allegations.

Gross misconduct is the highest level of disciplinary charge a police officer can face.

If found guilty, a police officer can face disciplinary action including a written warning, a demotion or dismissal from the force altogether.

• What is a Section 60 stop and search?

• Williams' 'heart hurts' after police stop car

Ricardo dos Santos said he was dragged out of his car by an officer and handcuffed

Mr dos Santos alleged he was dragged out of his car by an officer with a raised baton, handcuffed, and told that the stop-and-search was being conducted because he smelled of cannabis.

Video footage of what happened was widely shared on social media.

Stop and search: How common is it in England and Wales?

By Lucy Gilder, BBC Verify

• In the 12 months to March 2022 the police carried out more than half a million stop and searches

• The number of stop and searches fell by a quarter compared with the year before

• Two-fifths of all stop and searches were conducted by the Metropolitan Police

• Black people were searched at a rate six times higher than white people

• Nearly 67,000 stop and searches (13%) led to an arrest

Source: Home Office

The Met Police referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) after footage was posted online by the couple's trainer, former Olympic champion sprinter Linford Christie.

After the referral, then-Met Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick told LBC radio that "any officer worth their salt would have stopped that car" and that she did not "personally accept" the video footage "reveals racism".

Ms Williams decried Dame Cressida's comments as "public efforts to discredit and undermine our complaints and to trivialise the experiences of black people in the UK and how we are policed".

In January, there was further public scrutiny when Trisha Napier, who investigated the accused officers, told the BBC that her investigation had been "watered down".

Ms Napier, who resigned in November 2020, said was taking the watchdog to an employment tribunal. The IOPC denied her allegations.

Met Police Deputy Assistant Commissioner Bas Javid previously apologised for the "distress that this incident clearly caused Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos".

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