A former IOPC investigator has revealed she stood down over allegations of interference in Bianca Williams’ “racial profiling” case, but the police watchdog “absolutely denies” her allegations.
The stop and search of Team Great Britain sprinter Williams and her partner Ricardo Dos Santos in Maida Vale, London, went viral in 2020 with footage showing a line of police surrounding their car.
The athletes, whose three-month-old son was in the car at the time, were handcuffed and searched for weapons and drugs, but nothing was found and no arrests were made.
Ms Williams accused Met Police of racially profiling the couple and the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) launched an investigation into the incident.
Five employees face dismissal for possible breaches of professional standards.
“In my opinion the integrity of the organization was completely destroyed”
Tricia Napier, who was responsible for deciding whether any of the staff had done anything wrong, resigned from her role in November 2020 and will take the guard before an employment tribunal.
She told BBC Newsnight that her investigation had been “watered down” and believed former IOPC director-general Michael Lockwood had “interfered” in the case by demanding to see footage and documents.
Ms Napier said: “I had to lead an investigation and my decisions were overruled by senior managers.
“The integrity of the organization, in my opinion, was completely diminished and I just couldn’t … work for them anymore.”
The IOPC refutes Ms Napier’s claims
The IOPC said the allegations were “baseless” and they “found no evidence of malpractice or interference”.
A spokeswoman for the watchdog replied: “The decisions of the IOPC are made independently of the police, the government and any other group or individual. They are based solely on the available evidence.
“We absolutely reject the suggestion that our decisions were influenced by anything other than the evidence during this investigation.”
Regarding the allegations that Mr Lockwood had interfered in the case, the spokeswoman added: “The CEO is responsible and accountable for all operational decisions of the IOPC.”
They added that the director-general could review the evidence himself, which was “not unusual or unique to this case”.
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