Bianca Williams: Met PC thought he smelled cannabis in car

A police officer thought he could smell cannabis coming from the car of two top athletes when he and his colleagues stopped and searched them, a misconduct hearing was told.

Sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos and his partner Bianca Williams were handcuffed and searched outside their home in Maida Vale, west London, in July 2020.

Nothing untoward was found in the car.

PC Allan Casey and four other Metropolitan Police officers deny gross misconduct.

Mr Dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter, and Ms Williams, a Team GB athlete, believe they were victims of racial profiling.

They were followed by police as they drove home from training and searched on suspicion of carrying drugs or weapons.

Ms Williams previously told the hearing the couple's then three-month-old son cried in the back of the car as the search took place.

The incident, a video of which was circulated on social media, led to the Met Police referring itself to police watchdog the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

The hearing in central London was shown PC Casey's body-worn camera footage, in which he was heard telling a colleague "there's certainly a whiff of something".

He told the disciplinary hearing: "I thought I could smell cannabis and I thought it was coming from the car."

The IOPC 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 panel also heard that PC Casey was asked by another colleague about Mr Dos Santos's driving and whether he thought 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."

Acting Sgt Rachel Simpson and PCs Casey, Jonathan Clapham, Michael Bond and Sam Franks all face allegations that they breached police standards regarding equality and diversity during the stop and search.

Acting Sgt Simpson and PCs Clapham, Bond and Franks are accused of breaching standards over use of force and respect.

PCs Casey, Clapham, Bond and Franks also face allegations over the accuracy of their account of the stop.

The six-week hearing continues.

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