Ricardo dos Santos: IOPC to review case after armed Met police stop athlete

The police watchdog is to review how an athlete who has been repeatedly pulled over was stopped again, this time by seven armed officers.

Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter based in London, said he released video of the incident in central London on Sunday morning to show that young black people continued to face “over-policing”. He said he feared for his safety during the stop – his third in the last two years.

Not surprised I had to go through this again. Whilst driving home last night 7 armed @metpoliceuk officers stopped me because they thought I was on my phone whilst driving. At their request I pulled over when safe to do so. 1/3 pic.twitter.com/Px2KSJZQi8

The Metropolitan police said it had referred his complaint to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

Speaking to BBC Radio 5 live, Dos Santos said nothing had changed since he and his partner, the British sprinter Bianca Williams, were stopped and handcuffed by the police in July 2020 in what they allege was an incidence of racial profiling.

Stop-and-search controversies were cited in June as one of the many scandals that led to the Met being placed under special measures by the police inspectorate.

Dos Santos said: “My intention was purely for people to understand that even though the police have been put on special measures nothing has, or is, going to change.” He added: “My worry is that it is never going to stop. If people don’t talk about [it] especially people with a platform and a voice, it’s not going to stop.”

In a statement on Monday, the Met said: “We have now recorded this matter as a public complaint. We have also referred it on a voluntary basis to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, recognising the public interest. We await