More than £100,000 raised for officers sacked after stop and search of black athletes

More than £100,000 has been raised in an online fundraiser for two Metropolitan Police officers who were sacked over the stop and search of two black athletes.

Ex-officers Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were sacked earlier this week after a disciplinary hearing found them guilty of gross misconduct when they pulled over Team GB athlete Bianca Williams, 29, and her partner, 28-year-old Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos.

The hearing found that they lied about smelling cannabis when they pulled over the couple on 4 July 2020 in a “highly distressing” stop and search.

More than 5,600 people had donated to the JustGiving page on Saturday morning with donations topping £102,000.

The fundraising “comes at a time of great austerity where both will be affected by mortgage payments, food bills and general cost of living,” a statement on the page said.

“Every penny will go to the support of the officers and their families,” the statement added.

A later update said: “The support on the page has been a huge comfort to Jonny, Sam and their families. Thank you for every donation and word of support as it has genuinely made a difference.”

The police followed the athletes as they drove to their west London home from training with their baby son, then three months old, in the back seat of their Mercedes.

They were accused of racially profiling the couple alongside fellow Met officers Acting Police Sergeant Rachel Simpson, PC Allan Casey and PC Michael Bond – who were found not to have breached any standards.

The misconduct panel heard they followed Mr Dos Santos because of the “appalling” and “suspicious” nature of his driving and were doing their duty when they conducted the stop and search.

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The couple were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons after they were pulled over outside their property in Maida Vale, but nothing was found.

During his evidence, Mr Dos Santos accused the officers of detaining him for “DWB, driving while black”.

The hearing was told Mr Dos Santos was stopped nine times within four weeks of buying a car in 2018.

Earlier this year, Ms Williams won bronze in the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships. Mr Dos Santos competed at the 2021 Olympics in Tokyo in the 400m race.