Met officer ‘thought he could smell cannabis’ in police stop of athletes
Pc Allan Casey ‘thought he could smell cannabis’ after Ricardo Dos Santos and Bianca Williams’ car was stopped, a misconduct hearing was told.
Your support helps us to tell the story
From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.
At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.
The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.
Your support makes all the difference.A police officer “thought he could smell cannabis” coming from the car of two top athletes, telling a colleague “I’m getting a wee whiff of something”, a misconduct hearing was told.
Pc Allan Casey told a colleague “there’s certainly a whiff of something” after sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos 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.
At the time I didn't think we could prove any offences under the road traffic act, driving offences
A misconduct hearing in south-east London, where the five officers could be sacked if gross misconduct is proven, was shown Pc Casey’s body-worn camera footage where he could be heard making the comments, which included him saying “yeah I mean, he, he, the mannerisms”.
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.
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.
Mr Nicholas Yeo, for Pc Casey, then said the officer spoke to another colleague who was asking about Mr Dos Santos’s driving, and asked Pc Casey what his view was at the time as to whether or not there could be any offences prosecuted.
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.”
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.