A police disciplinary panel has found that two Metropolitan police officers are guilty of gross misconduct in connection with the arrest of Bianca Williams and her partner Ricardo dos Santos. The two athletes were stopped by the officers in Maida Vale, London, on the 4th of July 2020 on their way back from training and had their baby in the car.
The panel chair, Chiew Yin Jones concluded that the two officers, PC Jonathan Clapham and PC Sam Franks had been ‘trapped in a lie’ and that there was no objective basis for believing Dos Santos had cannabis in his car or on his persons. There were also three other officers involved in the hearing but the allegations against them were found to be not proven.
This case was brought by the director general of the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC). As reported in the Guardian, Karon Monaghan KC opened the case on behalf of the IOPC and submitted that it would be argued that ‘not only did the officers lie about smelling cannabis, they did so because Mr Dos Santos was black’. However, the panel concluded that it was not proven that the race of the athletes played a role in their treatment.
The officers had also claimed that the Mercedes driven by the athletes was often associated with gang members, which had further fuelled their suspicion. However, it was submitted by Monaghan KC that ‘it was obvious that she (Williams) was with her partner and her son rather than all being members of a gang.’
Chiew Yin Jones explained that: ‘Given the breach of the standards of honesty and integrity, within an operational context, arising as it did during the course of an encounter with members of the public in which coercive powers were used, the panel found that the conduct of PC Clapham and PC Franks amounted to gross misconduct as the breach was so serious as to justify dismissal.’
Speaking to the BBC, Ms Williams said: ‘This is huge’ and a ‘massive step’ but ‘it shouldn’t have taken three years to get to this result.’ She also added that it was ‘bittersweet’ as ‘unfortunately’ no action would be taken against the other officers. Speaking outside the hearing, Mr Dos Santos had also said that ‘little has changed in policing in London since the Stephen Lawrence case.’
