Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.
LONDON (AP) – Two former London police officers have been reinstated and will receive back pay after winning an appeal Friday against a ruling that said they lied about smelling cannabis during a period of stop and search two Black athletes.
The Police Appeal Tribunal overturned the conclusion by a disciplinary panel a year ago that the two former officers from the Metropolitan Police – Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks – had lied. That conclusion was “unreasonable” and “inconsistent,” the appeals tribunal said.
The two athletes, British sprinter Bianca Williams and her Portuguese partner Ricardo Dos Santos, told the police watchdog that they were racially profiled by a group of police officers on July 4, 2020.
The couple were driving home in London with their 3-month-old son in the back seat when police followed their car and pulled them over outside their home. The athletes were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons but nothing was found.
Appeals tribunal chairman Damien Moore said Clapham and Franks were “dedicated, hardworking and respected officers” whose reputations had been “destroyed” by the original findings.
“Both officers did not lie,” Moore said. “Both officers will now be reinstated to the Met Police. They should receive back pay.”
Williams had filmed the original incident and the video was widely shared online. It shows that she is clearly upset about being separated from her baby.
The Met, the UK’s largest police force, came under heavy criticism after the film was broadcast.
After the decision of the appeal, Dos Santos released a statement expressing his disappointment and said that he and Williams will challenge the result in civil courts.
“Our journey home from training in 2020, with our baby, should never have turned into a violent incident where we were falsely accused of smelling drugs,” he said.
“We are professional athletes, we pride ourselves on not doing drugs,” he added. “The actions and allegations of the officers were completely unacceptable.”
The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents police officers, said Friday’s ruling represented “another damning indictment” of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which assessed the incident for the first time.
“Justice has been served,” said Rick Prior, chairman of the group. “However, why it ever got to this point is a complete mystery.”
(Except translation, this story has not been edited by achinews staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
source link https://canadanewsmedia.ca/britain-is-back-in-americas-cup-final-for-the-first-time-in-60-years-2/
