‘Driving while black’
During his testimony, Dos Santos accused the officers of pulling him over for “DWB, driving while black.”
The hearing was told that the athlete was stopped nine times within four weeks after purchasing a car in 2018.
Williams cried as he watched images of Mr. Dos Santos being pulled from the driver’s seat to the side of the road and handcuffed.
‘You can’t change the color of your skin’
She denied suggestions that her partner could have acted differently to avoid police attention, insisting he “can’t change the color of his skin.”
The five officers gave testimony during the course of the misconduct hearing in which they denied accusations of racism. The panel concluded that the odor of cannabis at the stop and search was likely emanating from another area.
‘Anger among Londoners’
Sadiq Khan, mayor of London, said the panel’s findings would “anger and alarm many Londoners”.
The panel found that the other three officers, Acting Sergeant Rachel Simpson, PC Allan Casey and PC Michael Bond, had not committed serious misconduct but will have to carry out a “reflective practice review process”.
Earlier this year, Williams won bronze in the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships in Budapest.
At the 2022 and 2018 Commonwealth Games, she won gold in the 4x100m representing England.
Dos Santos competed at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics in the 400 meters.
Matt Ward, the Met’s deputy assistant commissioner, said he was “confident” the force “can and will learn from the experiences of Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos”.
