Ricardo Dos Santos: Sprinter pulled over for second time by police

A sprinter who was allegedly racially profiled during a stop and search has said he was "worried" at being pulled over for a second time by armed police.

Ricardo Dos Santos published a series of video tweets of him being pulled over and questioned by police in Paddington at 04:00 BST on Sunday.

The Met said officers were concerned the driver may have been using a phone.

The force has now referred itself to the police watchdog, the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The 27-year-old told the BBC his phone was between his thighs, and accused the Met of "over-policing".

Five officers face a gross misconduct hearing over a stop-and-search in 2020 involving the Portuguese sprinter and his partner.

Speaking to Radio 5 Live about the incident, Mr Dos Santos explained that he felt unsafe to stop on the A40 Westway and "went around" the police car to avoid driving into the back of it. He then continued driving for a further five minutes.

In a statement, the Met said: "The officers clearly indicated for the car to pull over but it failed to do so and they called for further assistance."

Mr Dos Santos said: "I missed the turn to come out and I felt there wasn't anywhere else that was safe enough to stop because the flyover is pretty dark so I took the next exit... and stopped at the next available street and I parked up and waited for them to come to me."

"It is a long time on a regular street but this was a flyover. For my safety, and based on my previous incidents with them [police], I thought that the best place to stop was somewhere lit up and with the possibility of witnesses."

Mr Dos Santos said he counted seven armed police officers and that one took his baton out of his pocket "out of frustration ready to smash the glass" after not knowing how to open the car door.

He added "nothing had changed" two years after he was pulled over with his partner, Bianca Williams, and their daughter.

On Monday, Scotland Yard said it had "recorded this matter as a public complaint" and referred itself to the police watchdog, "recognising the public interest".

An IOPC spokesperson said: "We will be assessing the available information in order to make an informed decision on the level of our involvement."

In July 2020, footage of Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos being searched and handcuffed was widely shared on social media, with Ms Williams later accusing the police of racially profiling them.

After the search, details of the couple's three-month-old baby were also stored on a police database called Merlin, used to record information on children who become known to the authorities.

In April, the IOPC said an acting police sergeant and four police constables will all face a gross misconduct disciplinary hearing over the incident.

Mr Dos Santos revealed this was the third time he had been stopped by police whilst driving in two years. On Sunday he said he warned the officers that his Tesla car had cameras which film the exterior of the vehicle.

He said: "I was worried for my safety, so much so that I called Bianca and I told her to log onto the car's cameras and look at them just in case anything happened once I'd pulled over.

"I stay as calm as possible because for me this isn't a surprising situation, it's happened many times so it's my norm.

"I believe it was over-policing for a phone."

In an earlier statement, the Met Police said: "Armed officers were on routine patrol in a marked police vehicle.

"They saw a car travelling eastbound on the A40 Westway and were concerned the driver may be using a mobile phone at the wheel.

"The driver stopped about five minutes later in Orsett Terrace W2, and the officers spoke to him about why they wanted to stop the vehicle.

"Following the conversation the vehicle was allowed on its way. We have since contacted the driver via Twitter to invite him to contact us if he would like to discuss this matter further."

Mr Dos Santos said he would not have direct contact with the Met but would leave it to his lawyer to deal with.

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