'Was I stopped because of my skin colour?'

A bricklayer has said he feels "insulted, embarrassed and vulnerable" after a police stop and search.

Max De Freitas was helping change a relative's door when officers arrived at the home in Weston, Hampshire, earlier this month.

The 29-year-old, who has no criminal record, said he "doesn't like to believe it" but thinks he was targeted because of his skin colour.

A spokesperson for Hampshire and Isle of Wight Constabulary said there was suspected drug-related activity in the area but nothing was found and no-one was arrested.

Max and his dad, Dean, who identify as black British, have since filed a complaint with the police force.

Speaking to the BBC, the father and son said it was not their first experience of a stop and search, but they were "not going to take it any more".

They were at the relative's house while a council worker was fitting the door on 12 February at about 11:00 GMT.

At the time the police arrived, Max was sitting in his car - a black Ford Fiesta he bought in January.

"I thought they were trying to protect us and when I realised it was for me, it almost felt like an insulting joke," Max said.

Dean was nearby and said he was told the car had been "seen driving around in drug activities".

He said the idea there had been drug dealing linked to them was "preposterous" and "crazy".

Dean watched as his son was handcuffed and searched.

"They caused as much chaos as possible and left us in pieces," he continued.

"This has got to stop, whether it's for us or the masses."

Race and diversity consultant Don John believes things are getting worse for black people.

"I think the cold fact is that if you're black in Southampton, you are five times more likely to be stopped and searched than if you're white," Mr John said.

"The problem with all of this is that being stopped and searched as a black person has become normalised, so people don't even complain about it anymore.

"They say it's something we've got to put up with these days."

There are forms on police websites people can use to file complaints but Mr John does not think these work.

"Even if they do start a complaint, it will be killed by the complexity and bureaucracy of the complaint procedure," he said.

"It takes months and after several weeks and months complainants get fed up and the police know they get fed up. All is does is create greater resentment between the police and black people."

In Hampshire, officers carried out more than 6,500 stop and searches in the second half of 2024.

Across the county, black people are eight times more likely to be searched than white people.

A force spokesperson said officers on patrol had stopped a man in his 20s on 12 February under section 23 of the Misuse of Drugs Act 1971.

"Nothing was located as a result of the searches and the man was not arrested," the spokesperson added.

"We have received a complaint following the stop and search, which our professional standards department is currently reviewing.

"As such, it would not be appropriate to comment further while this process is ongoing."

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