Two Met Police officers have been sacked after carrying out a stop-and-search of two athletes which was found to have amounted to gross misconduct.
British world championships medallist Bianca Williams, 29, and Portugal Olympic sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos, 28, say they were racially profiled.
They were handcuffed and searched outside their west London home while their baby was in the car in July 2020.
All allegations against three other officers were not proven.
Speaking after the conclusion of the officers’ disciplinary hearing, Ms Williams told the BBC in a sit-down interview: “This is huge, this is a massive step,” but added: “It shouldn’t have taken three years to get to this result.”
During the incident, the couple were pulled over by officers in Maida Vale as they returned from a training session and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons, but nothing was found.
The hearing found the two sacked officers – PC Jonathan Clapham and PC Sam Franks – lied about smelling cannabis in Mr Dos Santos’ car and so had breached professional standards of police behaviour in relation to honesty and integrity.
“I’m happy that this is the result,” Ms Williams continued. “This is a huge step in the right direction for people who continue to get stopped by the police and have that same old excuse about smelling of cannabis when nothing’s been found.”
She said the result was “bittersweet” and “unfortunately” no action would be taken against the other officers, while Mr Dos Santos, speaking outside the hearing, said: “Little has changed in policing in London since the Stephen Lawrence case.”
