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Olympic athlete pulled over by seven armed police while driving in London
Featured Image Credit: Ricardo Dos Santos/Twitter/Facebook
An athlete has hit out at police after he was pulled over by seven armed officers in London. You can watch the moment it happened here:
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Ricardo Dos Santos was driving through the capital when he was stopped by police yesterday (14 August).
Sharing the incident on social media, the sprinter said police told him they thought he was using his phone while at the wheel.
He also said that one of the cops took their baton out after becoming frustrated at not knowing how to open the door of his Tesla.
This came two years after he and his partner, Bianca Williams, were handcuffed and searched by police.
Writing on Twitter, Dos Santos said: "Not surprised I had to go through this again.
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
— Ricardo Dos Santos (@RDSS400) August 14, 2022
"Whilst driving home last night seven 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.
"After I stopped, two officers ran towards either side of the car, one fist clenched banged on my window and tried opening the car door.
"Not knowing how to use a Tesla handle, he took out his baton out of frustration ready to smash the glass.
"Annoyed that two years down nothing has changed but they still manage to over police.
"Why do seven armed officers need to be present when I was alone? Two or three max would have been enough."
The athlete then shared some footage from the incident to his page, explaining that the rest of it had been passed onto his lawyer.
A spokesperson for the Metropolitan Police has since responded to Dos Santos' posts.
In a statement shared on Twitter, the force said: "We are aware of footage on social media showing part of a stop on a car. At about 04.00hours on Sunday, 14 August, armed officers were on routine patrol in a marked police vehicle.
"They saw a car travelling eastbound on the A40 Westway and were concerned the driver may be using a mobile phone at the wheel.
Statement following vehicle stop in #W2 pic.twitter.com/qawsNUvlDp
— MPS Westminster (@MPSWestminster) August 14, 2022
"The officers clearly indicated for the car to pull over but it failed to do so and they called for further assistance.
"The driver stopped about five minutes later in Orsett Terrace W2, and the officers spoke to him about why they wanted to stop the vehicle.
"Following the conversation the vehicle was allowed on its way. We have since contacted the driver via Twitter to invite him to contact us if he would like to discuss this matter further."
In July 2020, Dos Santos claimed he and his parter were racially profiled by police after they were searched by police.
LADbible has contacted the Met Police for comment.
