Athlete Bianca Williams said she was “shocked” to see that more than £130,000 has been raised for two former police officers fired after a stop and search.
Ex-constables Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were dismissed without notice after they handcuffed and searched Ms Williams, 29, and Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos, 28, in what a panel ruled was gross misconduct.
Despite facing vicious online trolling for reporting the search, Ms Williams said she had “no regrets” about doing so.
A disciplinary panel found that the officers lied about smelling cannabis in the athlete’s car – but a fundraiser has raised a huge amount of money for the dismissed coppers and their families.
Ms Williams told BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour: “I feel like everyone has a right to do a crowdfund but in the circumstances it’s quite shocking, saying they shouldn’t have lost their jobs.
“But they lied and there has to be a punishment – they lost their jobs for that.”
The athlete and her partner Mr dos Santos said they were racially profiled when they were searched outside their home in July 2020.
The two officers followed the couple to their home home to Maida Vale as they drove back after training. Their son, who was three months old at the time, was in the backseat as the constables tailed the family.
Ms Williams and Mr dos Santos were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs or weapons – but nothing was found.
Ms Williams said that following the trial the trolling she was subjected to was now “10 times worse”.
She added to the BBC: “We have a voice and we are going to use it. There are so many people who have been stopped and haven’t been able to speak up or don’t have the financials to take it further.
“We are doing this to help the next person because it’s going to happen again.”
Thousands donated to the JustGiving page for the officers, which says it aims to help Clapham and Frank at “a time of great austerity”.
The donations have been a “huge comfort” for the officers, the page states.
The page also says: “Despite people’s personal views on this decision; this page has been created to solely support the officers and their families at this difficult time.
“So please refrain from airing them on this platform.”
The Independent Office for Police Conduct brought the case against five officers, saying the detention of Mr Dos Santos and Ms Williams was “because they were black” and was “excessive, unreasonable and unjustified”.
Clapham and Franks lied about smelling cannabis when they pulled the couple over, the panel found.
Jules Carey, a solicitor at Bindmans LLP, who represents Ms Williams and Mr Dos Santos, claimed “a very significant number of the comments” on the fundraising page appeared to be written by “serving officers, police units and police associations”.
The BBC reported that comments described the officers’ dismissal as “scandalous appeasement and scapegoating” and “an utter disgrace”, although they have now been removed by the fundraising page owner “to respect the impending appeal”.
Ms Williams’ solicitor said in a statement: “The comments of the apparently serving officers not only demonstrates an unwillingness to be held to account but it exposes just how toxic the culture in the Met is, and how far off change seems to be.
“The commissioner should immediately come out to publicly support the panel’s decision and the importance of accountability in the Met if public confidence in the police stands a chance of being restored in London.”
