Institutional racism in the police?

Callistemon you are more streetwise than me, I had no idea what drug dealers cars looked like!

Good plan MawB, the pastel green Lada. Our drug dealers tend to drive Audi 3 or BMW series.
Davidhs is on shaky ground on comments about race in every thread.

When DH bought his new car (not a BMW or a Merc) I remarked on the tinted windows Davidhs.
I said 'ooh, that looks like a drug dealer's car!'

He has not been stopped once on suspicion of drug dealing in 5 years. He's an older, white male.

Yes, I've seen the drug dealers working out of a local car park and the police must know it takes place.
They're white young men. Can't remember the car.

MawB*

I've just seen the footage and it was shocking. Especially bearing in mind there was a tiny baby in the car.

maw??

If I wanted to be a drug dealer and remain undetected clearly all I would have to do is drive a pastel green Lada.

I'd say go out and buy a black Mercedes with tinted windows! Why should one car be the preserve of drug dealers? (did that come from the police?) Do more Black people drive them perhaps?

Davidhs

Ms Williams and her partner were driving their Black Mercedes with Black windows, the police said they were acting suspiciously and the actions taken were correct in every way.

A Black Mercedes or BMW is a stereotypical drug dealer car, you can expect to get pulled up - so why drive one. What are police supposed to due, ignore suspicious behavior.

Are you seriously suggesting that a persons right to drive a black/white/sky blue pink car should be negated by the colour of their skin?
That is a totally unacceptable remark.
I know a few people with vehicles such as you describe but oddly none of them have been pulled over.
Oh, of course, they’re white.
And also - are you implying that all drug dealers are black?
On shaky ground Davidhs

Why don’t the couple sue ? If the police didn’t keep within the
law it will be on their Body cams

This latest incident has been looked at and the officers involved have committed no wrongdoing according to reports.
You have to stop immediately when asked to by the police, if you don’t it confirms suspicions.
Yes, it must be galling to be stopped many times, and although you shouldn’t have to, must say there is something in what Davidhs says.....next time buy a silver, pale blue any other colour bar black; with no blacked out windows either.
Anything for the police to not think you may be a drug dealer.Apparently they had been stopped in this car in London quite a few times, again, according to a report.

Whitewave, your comment that police seeing the worst of life etc but 'training should help' is an interesting one. My experience of over 40 years working closely and being involved in training programmes for police officers is that they aren't much different than the rest of us. Yes, they are the one's running into danger when we're all running away from it so there's something either in their character that encourages them to join, or they learn as they progress.
Some of the courses I was involved in ran over 10 days, the nature of which meant trainees who were not all police officers, would find it difficult to hide their true feelings. I continue to have respect for the vast majority of police officers I worked with or trained. I didn't find more jaundiced attitudes than you'd find in any multi disciplinary training course.
Police officers face things in the course of their working lives that most people remain unaware of. I am not defending racist, bullying, individuals who need getting rid of but I do feel empathy for those men and women, facing the kind of personal attacks, physically in some situations and professionally and personally in many others.

Oh let’s blame the victim!

If you say the actions were correct then the police need a re-think.

It was quite dreadful, and if I thought that my daughter and grandson had be subjected to such behaviour well hell would have no such fury!!

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I don't think it's just in the Met. I've lived in London, outer London, Sussex, Essex and Lancashire. During that time I have worked with women married to police officers. From one woman's surprisingly unguarded stories, I gathered there are certainly some police officers who take the law into their own hands and some who are most definitely racist.

Trisher. It seems to me that Cressida Dick needs to take a close look at what is happening in the Met.

There seem to be too many of these incidences in that police force.

I feel it is unfair to drag every police force in the UK into what appears to be shambolic behaviour of some Met officers.

I have watched the video and I wonder if it is common practice for officers to draw their batons. In fact I looked up the use of them and officers are only supposed to draw them when they anticipate the use of force against them. So why is the officer standing next to the car with his baton drawn? Why did he anticipate the person driving would use force against him? Could it possibly be because the driver was black?
Stop and search should not usually involve the use of handcuffs, which police instructions advise should only be used when there is a threat of violence. Now perhaps they can say that the driver looked violent but a woman sitting in the back of a car with her son? that really isn't likely.
The Met appear not to follow police instructions.

All the above mentioned events have involved the Met and it seems that the whole of the British police force is being condemned for the actions of these officers.

I mentioned earlier that 48% of stop and search is carried out by the Met. which is a huge amount for just one police force.

Yes the police have replied Whitewave , they viewed the film
from a body camera, we are not allowed to see it,

I question , forget colour of skin, a driver refuses to stop, drives off, police follow, car finally stops, perhaps at drivers home, driver refuses to get out of the car, Woman in back seat
refuses to get out of the car.

Colour of skin, this doesn’t happen to drivers of white skin?

I hope this couple take this further than twitter and tv interviews , only then will we know the truth

Oh annie the police have replied perhaps you haven’t seen it?

Their reply doesn’t fill me with confidence.

I too am worried, we only hear one side of these ‘happenings’

lemongrove

Iam64

If the reports from the two athletes are true, the police behaved appallingly. The police statement reports the car was seen on the wrong side of the road, that when asked to stop, the car sped off. There couldn't be two more disparate explanation

Maddyone, read the reports and watched some video on line of police attempts to break up the illegal parties in London. The Police were twice driven out of the area, the second time, riot police had been brought in but attacks by gangs, bricks and other objects being thrown at police led to them retreating and presumably accepting the community didn't want policing by consent.

I stress, I'm not defending racist responses, or denying there will be police officers who hold racist views.

Yes, sometimes the police do act badly and it should be brought to light.
They also have to deal with the most anti-social and violent people that the rest of society wouldn’t like to even come into contact with.

That’s true. I often wonder if it gives them a warped view of society.

Their training should deal with that though.

I do hope that these issues are dealt with and made clear as our police force has always imo been something to be proud of but lately I’m worried.

Iam64

If the reports from the two athletes are true, the police behaved appallingly. The police statement reports the car was seen on the wrong side of the road, that when asked to stop, the car sped off. There couldn't be two more disparate explanation

Maddyone, read the reports and watched some video on line of police attempts to break up the illegal parties in London. The Police were twice driven out of the area, the second time, riot police had been brought in but attacks by gangs, bricks and other objects being thrown at police led to them retreating and presumably accepting the community didn't want policing by consent.

I stress, I'm not defending racist responses, or denying there will be police officers who hold racist views.

Yes, sometimes the police do act badly and it should be brought to light.
They also have to deal with the most anti-social and violent people that the rest of society wouldn’t like to even come into contact with.

It seems that the ‘bad apple’ scenario is widely accepted.....just as it should be, because there are bad, poor, weak people in all professions, and yes they should be weeded out.
Strangely though this doesn’t seem to be accepted about the teaching profession (on GN) ....it is accepted in real life of course.

I am concerned we see bits of videos but not the whole happening . Perhaps the police should make their body camera filming public

If the reports from the two athletes are true, the police behaved appallingly. The police statement reports the car was seen on the wrong side of the road, that when asked to stop, the car sped off. There couldn't be two more disparate explanation

Maddyone, read the reports and watched some video on line of police attempts to break up the illegal parties in London. The Police were twice driven out of the area, the second time, riot police had been brought in but attacks by gangs, bricks and other objects being thrown at police led to them retreating and presumably accepting the community didn't want policing by consent.

I stress, I'm not defending racist responses, or denying there will be police officers who hold racist views.

I'm not defending the police and hopefully their bodycams will show how they behaved and there will be a full investigation.However on the BBC news website it states the car had blacked out windows and when requested to stop sped off.Then stopped outside their home.How far that was I don't know ,but if the police requested me to stop I would stop immediately.As has happened several times when there's been an incident.Yes I'm white. I don't deny I have no experience of multiple stop and search.And how that must feel.But it seems there was increased police activity due to specific reports in that area.Conversly are they not allowed to request someone to stop because they are black?And if a car with blacked out windows speeds speeds off I know from the experience of a family member the police themselves are in danger.Handcuffs ?Seems disproportianate but we weren't there.Police officers have been run over,dragged to their deaths in recent months.As I say hopefully bodycam footage will clarify.