Team GB star Bianca Williams reveals she is ‘shocked’ by the JustGiving page which has raised £130,000 for the lie that Met police officers were sacked for unlawful stops on her and her athlete boyfriend Ricardo dos Santos

Team GB athlete Bianca Williams today admitted she was “shocked” a JustGiving page had raised more than £130,000 for two officers who were sacked for gross misconduct during a stop and search.

Ms. Williams, 29, and her Olympic sprint partner Ricardo Dos Santos, 28, were stopped by police on July 4, 2020. Two of the officers involved were fired Thursday after a court ruled they lied about smelling cannabis in their car.

More than £130,000 has now been donated by a crowdfunder to former police officers Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks to provide them with financial support following their sackings.

Ms Williams told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour today: ‘I feel like everyone has the right to crowdfund, but in the circumstances it’s quite shocking to say they can’t do their job “Should have lost.”

“But they lied and there must be punishment – ​​they lost their jobs for that.”

Bianca Williams and Ricardo Dos Santos prepare to speak to the media in London after two of the officers were fired on Thursday

The couple with their son who was sitting in the back seat of their car when they were stopped by police

Commenting on the reaction to the hearing, Ms Williams added: “I’m glad people can see they lied, but it’s a situation where we’ve gotten so much hate from the officers who are now losing their jobs .”

“We’re being blamed, people are saying it wasn’t a racist situation, it wasn’t a racist attack. “In 2020 we were trolled, but now it’s 10 times worse.”

Comments on the JustGiving page described the officers’ dismissal as a “scandalous appeasement and scapegoating” and a “complete disgrace”.

Author Alice Vinten – a former London police officer – previously condemned the donations on X, formerly Twitter. “Are we doing this now?” she wrote. “Collect money for lying cops?”

The JustGiving page says the donations have been a “huge comfort” to the former officers.

Jules Carey, a lawyer representing the athletes, said that “a very large proportion of the comments” on the fundraising page defending the two officers appeared to be written by “serving officers, police units and police associations.”

He added: “Once again it appears that loyalty is being held up by public servants as a quality that should take precedence over integrity.”

The comments have since been removed “to accommodate an impending appeal.”

Mr Carey said: “Once again it appears that loyalty is being held up by public servants as a quality that should take precedence over integrity.”

“The commissioner should immediately publicly support the panel’s decision and the importance of accountability in the Met if public trust in policing in London has any chance of being restored.”

Author Alice Vinten, a former civil servant, condemned the donations in a tweet that said the officers were “fired for lying about smelling cannabis during a stop and search of a black couple and their baby.” .

She added: ‘Are we going to raise money for lying cops?’

A team of Met officers followed the athletes as they drove from training to their home in west London with their then three-month-old baby son in the back of their Mercedes.

Ms Williams told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour today: ‘I feel like everyone has the right to crowdfund, but in the circumstances it’s quite shocking to say they can’t do their job “Should have lost.”

Ricardo Dos Santos is handcuffed by Met police officers who claimed they “smelled cannabis” coming from his car

Mr Dos Santos is stopped and searched by Met Police officers on July 4, 2020

He says, “What have I done? “I’m home,” as he gets out of the car, his hands pinned behind his back

The officers tell him to “relax” as he continues to question why he is being held

The Metropolitan Police have since apologized to the couple for their distress

They were accused of racially profiling the pair along with the other Met officers, acting police sergeant Rachel Simpson, PC Allan Casey and PC Michael Bond, finding they had not breached any standards.

The misconduct panel heard that they followed Mr Dos Santos in their police van because his driving was “appalling” and “suspicious” and that they had done their duty in carrying out the stop and search.

The pair were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of drug and weapons possession after being stopped outside their property, but nothing was found.

During his testimony, Mr. Dos Santos accused officers of arresting 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.

Ms. Williams cried as she watched footage of Mr. Dos Santos being dragged from the driver’s seat to the side of the road and handcuffed.

An emotional Bianca Williams wipes tears from her eyes as she tells how she has considered leaving the UK

Earlier this year, Ms Williams won bronze in the 4x100m at the World Athletics Championships.

Mr. Dos Santos competed in the 400m at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Deputy Assistant Commissioner Matt Ward said the couple “deserved better and I apologize to them for the distress they have suffered”.

He said: “Honesty and integrity are at the core of policing and, as the panel concluded, there must be no place in the Met for officers who do not uphold these values.”

He added that the panel’s findings show that “there is still a long way to go to earn the trust of our communities, particularly our Black communities, when it comes to the use of stop and search.”