Ricado Dos Santos
(Picture: PA)A police leader called for the release of body-worn camera footage in the case of athlete Ricardo Dos Santos, saying: “We’ve got nothing to hide.”
The sprinter, 27, allegedly racially profiled during a stop-and-search in 2020, published clips of himself being pulled over by officers a second time at the weekend.
He was stopped in his Tesla on the A40 in west London early on Sunday by seven armed police who believed he was on a mobile.
Ken Marsh, chair of the Metropolitan Police Federation representing more than 30,000 rank-and-file officers in London, told the Standard: “I’ve been a big supporter of releasing body-worn video across the board. It should be available in the same way the public do against us.
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. At their request I pulled over when safe to do so. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/Px2KSJZQi8
— Ricardo Dos Santos (@RDSS400) August 14, 2022
“We’ve got nothing to hide at all. If officers did, they shouldn’t be in the job.”
Met MO19 specialist firearms officers are equipped with body-worn video and their armed response vehicles have on-board cameras.
The federation believes forces should use new guidelines to release footage quicker to counter those sharing selective video clips of police interactions on social media.
Scotland Yard referred the latest incident involving Mr Dos Santos to watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct but said it wouldn’t be releasing its material.
The IOPC said the decision would be for the Met “at this stage”.
In July 2020, footage of Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams, now 28, being searched and handcuffed was widely shared on social media, with both later accusing the police of racially profiling them.
In April, the IOPC said an acting police sergeant and four police constables will all face a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing.
