Anger over fundraiser for sacked Met officers

Bianca Williams was with her partner and baby when Met officers carried out the stop and search in July 2020

The "toxic culture of the Met" has been exposed by a fundraiser for two constables fired for gross misconduct, the solicitor to British athlete Bianca Williams and her partner said.

More than £65,000 has been donated to Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks who carried out a stop and search of Ms Williams and Ricardo dos Santos.

A disciplinary panel found the officers lied about smelling cannabis in the athletes' car.

The money is to "support the officers".

Ms Williams and Mr dos Santos, a Portuguese Olympic sprinter, said they were racially profiled when they were searched outside their home.

The disciplinary hearing found the actions of PC Clapham and PC Franks amounted to gross misconduct.

• Met officers sacked over athlete search misconduct

• Met PC used low level of force on sprinter - tribunal

"A very significant number of the comments [on the crowdfunding website] appear to be from serving officers, police units and police associations.

"The messages are predominantly denouncing the perceived injustice to the officers being dismissed for dishonesty, and are disparaging about the misconduct panel who made the finding," a statement released by Jules Carey, Bindmans solicitor to Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos, said.

"The comments of the apparently serving officers not only demonstrates an unwillingness to be held to account but it exposes just how toxic the culture in the Met is, and how far off change seems to be."

The statement added: "The commissioner should immediately come out to publicly support the panel's decision and the importance of accountability in the Met if public confidence in the police stands a chance of being restored in London."

Mr dos Santos was handcuffed and searched near the home he and Ms Williams share in west London

Police followed the athletes in July 2020 as they drove to their home in Maida Vale from training with their baby son, then three months old, in the back seat of their Mercedes.

The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons, but nothing was found.

During the disciplinary hearing, the panel was told the officers followed Mr dos Santos because of the "appalling" and "suspicious" nature of his driving.

The hearing found PC Clapham and PC Franks had breached professional standards of police behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity.

Allegations against three other officers were not proven.

The person behind the online fundraiser, named only as "UK", set a £50,000 target.

The crowdfunding page states both of the sacked officers "will be affected by mortgage payments, food bills and general cost of living". Comments on the site describe their dismissal as "scandalous appeasement and scapegoating" and "an utter disgrace".

Author Alice Vinten, a former officer, condemned the donations in a post on social media, saying the officers had been "dismissed for lying about smelling cannabis during a stop and search on a black couple and their baby. Is this what we do now? Raise money for lying cops?"

Earlier this year, Ms Williams won bronze in the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships. Mr dos Santos competed in the 400m at the Tokyo 2021 Olympic Games.

Speaking after the panel's verdict, the Met's Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said he was "confident" the Met "can and will learn from the experiences of Ms Williams and Mr dos Santos and work alongside communities to deliver fair and effective stop-and-search for all Londoners".

• An earlier version of this story attributed the statement to Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos. The story has now been updated to reflect it was the statement of their solicitor.

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