Dashcam footage has been released of Portuguese sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos allegedly being 'grabbed' by a Metropolitan Police officer in August of last year during a stop and search.
The footage was revealed after Dos Santos, 28, was involved in an interview with Labour MP for Brent Central, Dawn Butler with Byline Times. The sprinter initially revealed all on the incident in the aftermath last summer when he took to social media.
In a series of tweets posted on August 14 2022, he wrote: "Not surprised I had to go through this again. Whilst driving home last night 7 armed @metpoliceuk officers stopped me because they thought I was on my phone whilst driving."
Another tweet read: "At their request I pulled over when safe to do so. After I stopped two officers ran towards either side of the car, one fist clenched banged on my window and tried opening the car door. Not knowing how to use a Tesla handle he took out his baton out of frustration ready to smash the glass."
After the initial posts, the Met Police claimed the vehicle failed to stop initially in their own statement, before eventually doing so five minutes later.
Six months on, Dos Santos has revealed further footage of the incident which shows the Portuguese athlete being pulled over before being questioned by two police officers. In his interview with MP Butler, Dos Santos reveals he still has four outstanding complaints against the police force.
After being asked to come out of his car, the sprinter admitted he contacted his partner and fellow athlete Bianca Williams to record the incident live via the dashcam.
He said: "[One officer] tried to open the door, he doesn’t know how to open the door so he takes the baton out because he’s going to smash the glass. I called Bianca because she is able to view [the video] live. She knows the procedure.
"This officer is grabbing me, and his colleague comes and points at the [car] camera and whispers to him the car’s recording. He looks and lets go of my hand.”
A Met Police statement on Tuesday confirmed an investigation into the incident remained ongoing.
This is not the first time Dos Santos had been pulled over by the police, following another incident in 2020.
On this occasion, the Portuguese national was joined in the car by partner Williams and their son Zuri-Li, who was just three months old. Dos Santos was handcuffed by police officers as they searched his car but nothing was found. Officers later alleged Dos Santos was driving on the wrong side of the road and was speeding.
Footage is believed to have been filmed by Williams and the clip was shared by Olympic gold medal winning runner Linford Christie. He wrote: "Racist police aren't just in America #BLM." The video has since been viewed 1.2 million times.
Labour leader Keir Starmer questioned the actions of the police and the use of handcuffs during the incident, He stated: "If I was a senior officer looking at that footage, I would feel uncomfortable about the way that it was dealt with.” However, former Met Police Commissioner Dame Cressida Dick insisted the officers had done nothing wrong.
Trisha Napier, a leading investigator for the Independent Office of Police Complaints (IOPC), resigned after feeling her recommendation for actions against the officers, was 'watered down'. She claimed there was 'interference' from her boss and there was 'political motivation' in the way the case was handled.
However, an internal IOPC probe concluded there was no evidence to support her allegations.
Dos Santos, who has been coached by Christie, represented Portugal at the Olympic Games in Tokyo in the 400m but did not progress from his heat.
His partner Bianca WIlliams represents Great Britain in the women's 4x100m relay and won Commonwealth and European Championship gold medals back in 2018.
