London Daily

Focus on the big picture.
Friday, Oct 03, 2025

IOPC rules out inquiry into armed police stop of Ricardo dos Santos

IOPC rules out inquiry into armed police stop of Ricardo dos Santos

Watchdog refers case back to Met police for its own investigation over sprinter’s claims of aggression and racism

The police watchdog has ruled out an investigation into the Metropolitan police’s treatment of an athlete who was pulled over in his car by seven armed officers.

Ricardo dos Santos, a Portuguese sprinter based in London, released a video of the incident in central London that took place earlier this month.

He said the officers acted aggressively in what was his third police stop in three years, and that young black people continued to face “over-policing”.

The Met referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) to review, but the complaint has now been returned to the Met to carry out its own investigation.

An IOPC spokesperson said: “Having assessed a referral from the MPS [Metropolitan Police Service] of a complaint relating to a vehicle stop in Orsett Terrace, west London, on 14 August, we notified the MPS last week that the matter does not require investigation by the IOPC.

“We have sent it back to the force to carry out its own investigation. We also advised that should its investigation identify any conduct matters, then the matter should be re-referred. The complainant has now been advised of our decision.”


The Met previously said that Dos Santos, 27, was stopped in west London over a suspicion that he was using a mobile phone at the wheel. Dos Santos said he was in fact holding his fingers to his face.

In a statement on Thursday, the Met said: “The Independent Office for Police Conduct has decided it does not need to investigate a vehicle stop by Met officers in W2.

“The IOPC have returned this complaint to the Met to investigate. This investigation will be led by the Directorate of Professional Standards. The complainant has been informed.”

Dos Santos and his partner, the British sprinter Bianca Williams, were also stopped and handcuffed by the police in July 2020 in what they allege was an instance of racial profiling.

Earlier this month, Dos Santos said the latest incident showed nothing had changed. He told BBC 5 live: “I was worried for my safety, because two years ago I also did nothing wrong. And I was dragged out of my car, and basically set upon by police officers.”

In the latest incident, in the early hours of 14 August, police initially tried to flag down Dos Santos on the M40 flyover. Dos Santos said his previous encounters with the police made him continue driving to a more visible place before stopping.

Defending his decision not to stop immediately, he told the BBC: “The flyover is pretty dark … For my safety and based on my previous incidents with them, I thought that the best place to stop would be somewhere lit up and with the possibility of witnesses. I didn’t fail to stop, I stopped where it’s safe to do so.”

When he did stop five minutes later, Dos Santos was approached by seven armed officers, whom he said acted aggressively. One appeared to try to smash the window of his Tesla, and another tried to prevent him from walking in front of the car where he could be filmed by the vehicle’s dashcam, Dos Santos claimed.

The Met said the officers had “clearly indicated” for the car to pull over but it “failed to do so”, after which 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,” the force said. “Following the conversation, the vehicle was allowed on its way.”

Newsletter

Related Articles

0:00
0:00
Close
Trump Administration Launches “TrumpRx” Plan to Enable Direct Drug Sales at Deep Discounts
Trump Announces Intention to Impose 100 Percent Tariff on Foreign-Made Films
Altman Says GPT-5 Already Outpaces Him, Warns AI Could Automate 40% of Work
Singapore and Hong Kong Vie to Dominate Asia’s Rising Gold Trade
Trump Organization Teams with Saudi Developer on $1 Billion Trump Plaza in Jeddah
Manhattan Sees Surge in Office-to-Housing Conversions, Highest Since 2008
Switzerland and U.S. Issue Joint Assurance Against Currency Manipulation
Electronic Arts to Be Taken Private in Historic $55 Billion Buyout
Thomas Jacob Sanford Named as Suspect in Deadly Michigan Church Shooting and Arson
Russian Research Vessel 'Yantar' Tracked Mapping Europe’s Subsea Cables, Raising Security Alarms
New York Man Arrested After On-Air Confession to 2017 Parents’ Murders
U.S. Defense Chief Orders Sudden Summit of Hundreds of Generals and Admirals
Global Cruise Industry Posts Dramatic Comeback with 34.6 Million Passengers in 2024
Trump Claims FBI Planted 274 Agents at Capitol Riot, Citing Unverified Reports
India: Internet Suspended in Bareilly Amid Communal Clashes Between Muslims and Hindus
Supreme Court Extends Freeze on Nearly $5 Billion in U.S. Foreign Aid at Trump’s Request
Archaeologists Recover Statues and Temples from 2,000-Year-Old Sunken City off Alexandria
China Deploys 2,000 Workers to Spain to Build Major EV Battery Factory, Raising European Dependence
Speed Takes Over: How Drive-Through Coffee Chains Are Rewriting U.S. Coffee Culture
U.S. Demands Brussels Scrutinize Digital Rules to Prevent Bias Against American Tech
Ringo Starr Champions Enduring Beatles Legacy While Debuting Las Vegas Art Show
Private Equity’s Fundraising Surge Triggers Concern of European Market Shake-Out
Colombian President Petro Vows to Mobilize Volunteers for Gaza and Joins List of Fighters
FBI Removes Agents Who Kneeled at 2020 Protest, Citing Breach of Professional Conduct
Trump Alleges ‘Triple Sabotage’ at United Nations After Escalator and Teleprompter Failures
Shock in France: 5 Years in Prison for Former President Nicolas Sarkozy
Tokyo’s Jimbōchō Named World’s Coolest Neighbourhood for 2025
European Officials Fear Trump May Shift Blame for Ukraine War onto EU
BNP Paribas Abandons Ban on 'Controversial Weapons' Financing Amid Europe’s Defence Push
Typhoon Ragasa Leaves Trail of Destruction Across East Asia Before Making Landfall in China
The Personality Rights Challenge in India’s AI Era
Big Banks Rebuild in Hong Kong as Deal Volume Surges
Italy Considers Freezing Retirement Age at 67 to Avert Scheduled Hike
Italian City to Impose Tax on Visiting Dogs Starting in 2026
Arnault Denounces Proposed Wealth Tax as Threat to French Economy
Study Finds No Safe Level of Alcohol for Dementia Risk
Denmark Investigates Drone Incursion, Does Not Rule Out Russian Involvement
Lilly CEO Warns UK Is ‘Worst Country in Europe’ for Drug Prices, Pulls Back Investment
Nigel Farage Emerges as Central Force in British Politics with Reform UK Surge
Disney Reinstates ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’ after Six-Day Suspension over Charlie Kirk Comments
U.S. Prosecutors Move to Break Up Google’s Advertising Monopoly
Nvidia Pledges Up to $100 Billion Investment in OpenAI to Power Massive AI Data Center Build-Out
U.S. Signals ‘Large and Forceful’ Support for Argentina Amid Market Turmoil
Nvidia and Abu Dhabi’s TII Launch First AI-&-Robotics Lab in the Middle East
Vietnam Faces Up to $25 Billion Export Loss as U.S. Tariffs Bite
Europe Signals Stronger Support for Taiwan at Major Taipei Defence Show
Indonesia Court Upholds Military Law Amid Concerns Over Expanded Civilian Role
Larry Ellison, Michael Dell and Rupert Murdoch Join Trump-Backed Bid to Take Over TikTok
Trump and Musk Reunite Publicly for First Time Since Fallout at Kirk Memorial
Vietnam Closes 86 Million Untouched Bank Accounts Over Biometric ID Rules
×