Metropolitan Police officers have been accused of racial profiling after a video emerged of two Black men receiving harsher treatment during a routine stop and search than their white companion.
The video shows four police officers conducting a stop and search on a group of three young men, having pulled them out of a queue outside a Tesco store in Enfield, north London.
The two Black members of the group were handcuffed during the search, but the third member of the group, who is white, was not.
One of the handcuffed men complains in the video: “[I’m] just lining up and they’re coming after me.” In the background, a woman can be heard saying, in reference to the third man: “How come this guy is not in handcuffs? He’s white.”
Simeon Collins, who recorded the incident, claims the young men were stopped for no obvious reason.
“There was nothing obviously suspicious, but the way police were following them didn’t feel right,” he said. “It was aggressive. As soon as they joined the queue waiting to get into Tesco, they were pulled out and handcuffed.
“I think it was racial profiling and stereotyping, because of the way they were dressed. They handcuffed everyone but the white guy. Even down to the officer sniffing the Black boy’s water bottle – it was degrading.”
Collins was reminded of his own experiences with stop and search. “I’m in my 30s now and I remember it was quite normal for me to be searched. I found it embarrassing, and it shouldn’t be normal for Black boys to still go through this today,” he said.
Occurring five days after the killing of George Floyd in the United States, the incident is being regarded as an example of the relevance of the Black Lives Matter movement to the British criminal justice system.
Aliyah Hasinah, a Black Lives Matter UK activist, said: “We know that Black boys in the UK are much more likely than their white counterparts to be stopped and searched by the police. We know the Met has been described as institutionally racist.
“We know from that absolutely appalling video from Enfield that three boys got searched and the two who were handcuffed just happened to be Black. This was not a coincidence. It’s very plain to see.”
Kate Osamor, a local MP, said the video has raised tensions in her constituency of Edmonton, which is one of the most diverse in the country.
“Many constituents have contacted me, raising concerns that this video is an example of systemic racism in the police playing out in real-time,” said Osamor. “They are angry and upset and I share their concerns.”
In a statement, the Met police acknowledged “a video on social media showing the stop and search of three males by officers near Tesco in Southbury Road, Enfield on May 30. Following concerns received about the video we are looking into the circumstances, including speaking to the officers involved, to obtain a full picture of events.”
It said that “during the stop, two of the males were handcuffed while one was not,” adding “they were all let go with no further action following the conclusion of the searches.”
A 2018 report into stop and search by the Independent Office for Police Conduct warned officers against the automatic use of handcuffs during stop and search, stating: “An must assess whether it is lawful, necessary and proportionate to apply handcuffs, rather than just convenient, easier or ‘normal practice’.”