Ricardo Dos Santos police stop referred to watchdog after sprinter pulled over for second time

Metropolitan Police says it recognises public interest over incident

A vehicle stop involving Ricardo Dos Santos has been referred to a police watchdog after the Portuguese sprinter was pulled over by officers for a second time.

The Olympic athlete shared footage of him being stopped by seven armed police officers while driving home in London in the early hours of Sunday.

Mr Dos Santos said they thought he was on his phone and one officer pulled a baton when he could not work out how to open the door.

It came two years after Mr Dos Santos and his wife, British sprinter Bianca Williams, were stopped by police while driving, searched and handcuffed.

The Metropolitan Police said the incident involving Mr Dos Santos at the weekend has now been referred to the police watchdog.

The force said it had voluntarily sent the case to the Independent Office for Police Conduct in light of the public interest over the matter.

“We await their views on how they may wish to take this forward,” the Met said.

It has also recorded the vehicle stop on Orsett Terrace in west London as a matter of public complaint.

Mr Dos Santos posted footage of a police car stopping in front of him and flashing its blue lights, after which the athlete drove around the vehicle and pulled over some minutes later.

A second clip appeared to show a police officer running up to Mr Dos Santos’s car door and drawing his baton.

“After I stopped two officers ran towards either side of the car, one fist clenched banged on my window and tried opening the car door,” Mr Dos Santos tweeted.

“Not knowing how to use a Tesla handle he took out his baton out of frustration ready to smash the glass,” he claimed.

Bianca Williams and her husband, Ricardo Dos Santos were pulled over by police in Maida Vale in 2020 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved.)

The sprinter accused officers of over-policing and questioned why seven armed officers needed to be present.

He said he was “annoyed” that “nothing has changed” two years after he was stopped with his wife and baby in Maida Vale, west London.

Ms Williams accused the force of racially profiling the couple in the 2020 stop, during which she was searched for weapons and her husband was searched for weapons and drugs.

Details of their baby were also stored on a police database.

An acting police sergeant and four police constables are all facing gross misconduct disciplinary hearings over the incident in 2020.