Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter based in London, posted a video of the incident in central London that took place earlier this month. He said officers acted aggressively in his third police stop in three years and that young black men continued to face “overpolicing.” The Met referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) for a review, but the complaint has now been returned to the Met to conduct its own investigation. An IOPC spokesman said: “Having assessed a referral from the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] regarding a complaint about a vehicle stop in Orsett Terrace, west London, on August 14, we informed the MPS last week that the matter did not require an investigation by the IOPC. “We have sent it back to the force to conduct its own investigation. We also advised that if her investigation identified any behavioral issues then the matter should be re-referred. The complainant has now been informed of our decision.” I’m not surprised I had to go through it again. While driving home last night 7 armed @metpoliceuk officers stopped me because they thought I was on my phone while driving. At their request, I departed when it was safe to do so. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/Px2KSJZQi8 — Ricardo Dos Santos (@RDSS400) August 14, 2022 The Met previously reported that Dos Santos, 27, was stopped in west London on suspicion of using a mobile phone at the wheel. Dos Santos said he was actually holding his fingers to his face. In a statement on Thursday, the Met said: “The Independent Office for Policing Conduct has decided that it does not need to investigate a vehicle stop by Met officers in W2. “The IOPC has referred this complaint back to the Met for investigation. This investigation will be led by the Professional Standards Directorate. The complainant has been informed.” Dos Santos and his partner, British sprinter Bianca Williams, were also stopped and handcuffed by police in July 2020 in what they claim was a case of racial profiling. Earlier this month, dos Santos said the latest incident showed nothing had changed. He told BBC 5 Live: “I was worried about my safety because two years ago I didn’t do anything wrong either. And they dragged me out of my car and basically got hit by cops.” Archie Bland and Nimo Omer take you to the top stories and what they mean, free every weekday morning Privacy Notice: Newsletters may contain information about charities, online advertising and content sponsored by external parties. For more information, see our Privacy Policy. We use Google reCaptcha to protect our website and Google’s Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply. In the latest incident, in the early hours of August 14, police initially tried to take Dos Santos down on the M40 flyover. Dos Santos said his previous encounters with police caused him to continue driving to a more visible spot before stopping. Defending his decision not to stop immediately, he told the BBC: “The flyover is quite dark… For my own safety and based on my previous incidents with them, I thought the best place to stop would be somewhere lit and with the ability witnesses. I didn’t fail to stop, I stopped where it was safe to do so.” When he stopped five minutes later, dos Santos was approached by seven armed officers, who he said acted aggressively. One was seen trying to break the window of his Tesla and another tried to stop him from walking in front of the car where he could be filmed by the vehicle’s camera, Dos Santos claimed. The Met said officers had “clearly signaled” the car to overturn, but it “failed”, and then called for further assistance. “The driver stopped approximately five minutes later at Orsett Terrace W2 and officers spoke to him about why they wanted to stop the vehicle,” the force said. “After the conversation, the vehicle was allowed to move.”
