Linford Christie accuses Met Police of ‘institutional racism’ after two black athletes stopped and handcuffed
LINFORD Christie has accused the Met Police of “institutionalised racism” after two of his athletes were detained in handcuffs outside their home yesterday.
The former 100m Olympic champion tweeted a furious message demanding answers after the unnamed couple were stopped along with their three-month-old baby.
Footage of the incident showed the pair being pulled from their car in broad daylight by at least three police officers in West London.
One of the cops can be heard saying they are searching the car “for weapons”.
Met Police said in a statement that they stopped a car which had sped away from officers travelling on the wrong side of the road.
Yesterday, Linford – who is now an athletics coach – addressed a message on Twitter to Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick alleging that the male driver had been “assaulted” by cops and that officers had taken “a mother away from her baby.”
‘INSTITUTIONALISED RACISM‘
He wrote: “Two of my athletes were stopped by the police today, both international athletes, both parents of a three-month-old baby who was with them and both handcuffed outside of their home.
“Can Cressida Dick or anyone please explain to me what justification the Met Police officers had in assaulting the driver, taking a mother away from her baby all without one piece of PPE and then calling the sniffer dog unit to check the car over.
“Was it the car that was suspicious or the black family in it which led to such a violent confrontation and finally an accusation of the car smelling of weed but refusing to do a roadside drug test.
“This is not the the first time this has happened. (second time in two months) And I’m sure it won’t be the last but this type of abuse of power and institutionalised racism cannot be justified or normalised any longer.”
The Metropolitan Police responded saying a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman were detained but not arrests were made following the search.
A statement read: “At around 13:25hrs on Saturday, 4 July, officers from the Territorial Support Group were patrolling in the W9 area in response to an increase in violence involving weapons.
“Officers witnessed a vehicle with blacked out windows that was driving suspiciously, including driving on the wrong side of the road.
“They indicated for it to stop but it failed to do so and made off at speed.
“The officers caught up with the vehicle when it stopped on Lanhill Road. The driver initially refused to get out of the car.
“The occupants, a 25-year-old man and a 26-year-old woman, were informed that they were being detained for the purposes of a search under Section 1 of the Police and Criminal Evidence Act 1984.
“Following a search of the vehicle, the man and the woman, nothing was found. No arrests were made and the occupants were allowed on their way.
“Police are aware of a video circulating on social media showing part of the stop.
“Each stop is dealt with on its own merits at the discretion of the individual officers involved, taking into account various aspects including behaviour and compliance.
“Officers have to make these judgement calls regularly on a daily basis, often in difficult circumstances.
“They understand that their actions will be scrutinised as they go about their work and that the public have the right to hold them to account where appropriate.
“Officers from the Directorate of Professional Standards have reviewed both footage from social media, and the body-worn video of the officers and are satisfied that there is no concern around the officers’ conduct.”