Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has apologized to UK athlete Bianca Williams, who believes that she and her partner were racially profiled when they were stopped and searched by law enforcement officers over the weekend, for the distress caused to her, but denied claims of institutional racism within her force
MOSCOW (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 08th July, 2020) Met Police Commissioner Cressida Dick has apologized to UK athlete Bianca Williams, who believes that she and her partner were racially profiled when they were stopped and searched by law enforcement officers over the weekend, for the distress caused to her, but denied claims of institutional racism within her force.
Williams, a UK sprinter, earlier complained that she and her partner, Ricardo dos Santos, were racially profiled by police when their car was stopped and searched in London on Saturday. The two were reportedly handcuffed and separated from their three-month-old son who was in the car. The police say the car was stopped over being driven suspiciously, including on the wrong side of the road. The athlete denies it.
"My senior officer has said 'I'm sorry' to Ms Williams for the distress it has clearly caused her. And I say that too. So if there are lessons to be learned from it, we will learn them," Dick told the Home Affairs Select Committee, as broadcast by Sky news.
The police chief added that she is looking at handcuffing as a "specific issue."
Dick stated that the Met has "come an enormous way," noting that calling the force "institutionally racist" is not a label she finds helpful.
The police have already launched several reviews into the incident, with a number of politicians, including London Mayor Sadiq Khan, having expressed their concerns over the allegations of racial profiling.
