Officer denies racially profiling athlete after insisting he smelled cannabis

A police officer denied racially profiling a sprinter after insisting he could smell cannabis coming from a car, a misconduct hearing was told.

Pc Allan Casey told a colleague “there’s certainly a whiff of something” after sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos and his partner and Team GB athlete Bianca Williams were stopped and searched on July 4 2020.

Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams, both international athletes, believe they were racially profiled during a “disturbing” encounter with five Metropolitan Police officers who followed them as they drove to their west London home from training with their then-three-month-old boy in the back seat of their Mercedes.

The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they pulled over outside their property, but nothing was found.

He told the hearing on Monday: “I thought I could smell cannabis and I thought it was coming from the car.”

He added: “The behaviour of Mr Dos Santos, pulling away and shouting at my colleagues.”

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) watchdog, which the misconduct case has been brought on behalf of, alleges some of the officers “lied” in saying there was a smell of cannabis when they stopped the car, the hearing was previously told.

Karon Monaghan KC, for the IOPC, told Pc Casey in a previous document he had said he smelt cannabis independently from other officers, which she said would “make the claim stronger”.

And before Pc Casey made the comment about the smell, a colleague told him a dog was on the way, which he assumed would be a drugs dog, Ms Monaghan added.

Pc Casey said he did not hear the officer on the radio, and added that he “referred to the whiff because I could smell cannabis”.

Ms Monaghan said to Pc Casey: “You know there’s a racial stereotype that black people are more likely to smoke cannabis,” and the officer replied: “No.”

Ms Monaghan suggested that Pc Casey racially profiled Mr Dos Santos when the Mercedes first came into view, then decided to follow the car, which Pc Casey denied.

After being asked if he was aware that black people are more likely to be stopped and searched by the Met Police, and if it would be something he would have in mind, he said he would be “objective”.

“I would be questioning myself as to whether it was about the person,” he added.

The hearing was also shown footage of Pc Casey beginning to “walk the route” the Mercedes had taken after Ms Williams, 29, a gold medallist in the 4x100m relays at the 2018 European Championships and Commonwealth Games, and Mr Dos Santos, 28, a Portuguese competitor in the 400m sprint at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, were out of the vehicle.

Asked why he would “walk the route”, Pc Casey said: “In case anything had been discarded from the vehicle while it was out of sight.”

Nothing was found, he added.

Pc Casey said: “At the time I didn’t think we could prove any offences under the road traffic act, driving offences.

“I could see there was rapid acceleration, heavy braking, but I couldn’t tell you what speed the driver was driving at.”

Ms Monaghan also suggested that Pc Casey was engaged in a police pursuit, which is not allowed in the type of van he was driving, which he also denied.

The hearing was shown footage of Pc Casey’s driving before the stop-and-search, which Ms Monaghan said was “without care because you really wanted to get Mr Dos Santos”.

Pc Casey replied: “I was not.”

She said to summarise, Pc Casey “got very close to cyclists and pedestrians”, “didn’t indicate regularly”, “exceeded the speed limit”, “didn’t give way to traffic when there were give way markings in the road”, “drove on the wrong side of the road at least once” and “possibly, we would suggest probably, mounted a pavement with a disabled person walking along it”.

Pc Casey replied yes to the first three comments, then said the traffic “gave way to me”, replied yes to driving on the wrong side of the road and said he had “no recollection of mounting the pavement”.

Ms Monaghan said Mr Dos Santos was “braking at junctions, indicating, not driving on the wrong side of the road or putting pedestrians at risk”.

Pc Casey said that was “not quite my recollection of what the vehicle was doing”.

Mr Yeo said the next day Pc Casey made a witness statement in relation to the stop, and was later invited to an interview with the IOPC where he gave a prepared statement.

Acting PS Rachel Simpson, Pc Allan Casey, Pc Jonathan Clapham, Pc Michael Bond and Pc Sam Franks deny all charges against them, which include allegations that they breached police standards over equality and diversity during the stop-and-search.

Acting PS Simpson and Pcs Clapham, Bond and Franks also face allegations that their actions amounted to a breach of professional behaviour standards in relation to the use of force.

They are said to have failed in relation to their levels of authority, respect and courtesy, as well as in their duties and responsibilities.

Pc Casey is also accused of breaching professional standards in the way he carried out his duties and responsibilities or gave orders and instructions.

It is also alleged that the honesty and integrity of Pcs Casey, Clapham, Bond and Franks breached professional behaviour standards.

The six-week hearing continues.