LONDON (AP) — Two former London police officers have been handed their jobs back and will receive back pay after winning an appeal Friday against a ruling that said they had lied about smelling cannabis during a stop and search of two Black athletes.
The Police Appeals Tribunal overturned the conclusion by a disciplinary panel a year ago that the two former Metropolitan Police officers — Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks — had lied. That conclusion was “irrational” and “inconsistent,” the appeals tribunal said.
The two athletes, British sprinter Bianca Williams and her Portuguese partner Ricardo Dos Santos, told the police watchdog that they were racially profiled by a group of police officers on July 4, 2020.
The couple were driving home in London with their 3-month-old son in the back seat when police followed their car and pulled them over outside their home. The athletes were handcuffed and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons but nothing was found.
The appeals tribunal's chairman Damien Moore said Clapham and Franks were “dedicated, hard-working and much respected officers” whose reputations had been “ruined” by the original findings.
“Both officers did not lie,” Moore said. “Both officers will now be reinstated to the Met Police. They should receive back pay.”
Williams had filmed the original incident and the video was widely shared online. It shows her visibly distressed about being separated from her baby.
The Met, which is the U.K.'s biggest police force, came under heavy criticism after the footage was aired.
After the appeal decision, Dos Santos released a statement expressing his disappointment and said he and Williams will challenge the outcome in civil courts.
“Our drive home from training in 2020, with our baby, should never have turned into a violent incident where we were wrongly accused of smelling of drugs," he said.
“We are professional athletes, we pride ourselves on not doing drugs," he added. “The actions and allegations of the officers were completely unacceptable."
The Metropolitan Police Federation, which represents police officers, said Friday's ruling represented “yet another damning indictment" of the Independent Office for Police Conduct, which first assessed the incident.
“Justice has been served," said Rick Prior, the group's chairman. “Why it ever got to this point however remains an absolute mystery.”
FILE - Bianca Williams, of Britain, looks up at the results after qualifying in a women's 200 meters round 1 heat at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, Aug. 4, 2024, in Saint-Denis, France. (AP Photo/Martin Meissner, File)
Ricardo Dos Santos, the partner of British athlete Bianca Williams, leaves the International Dispute Resolution Centre in central London, where an appeal hearing for two police officers, Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks, who were sacked for lying after saying they could smell cannabis during a stop and search of Santos and Williams in July 2020, on Thursday Oct. 3, 2024. (Jordan Pettitt/PA via AP)
Matt Rempe of the New York Rangers has been offered an in-person hearing with the NHL’s Department of Player Safety to discuss his boarding and elbowing of Dallas Stars defenseman Miro Heiskanen.
The in-person hearing, which can be held via Zoom as opposed to a phone call, allows senior vice president of player safety George Parros and his department to suspend Rempe for six or more games. The time and date of the hearing is to be determined, the league said Saturday.
Rempe, a 6-foot-8 forward, became a fan favorite last season in his rookie year for fighting some of the toughest veteran big men in a throwback to vintage enforcers who largely have disappeared from hockey. But he also ran afoul of the rules, getting ejected twice and receiving a four-game suspension for one of those situations: an elbow to the head of New Jersey’s Jonas Siegenthaler.
That history factors in on the length of the suspension, along with injury and intent on the play that occurred with 13 minutes left in the third period Friday night. Heiskanen returned to skate four more shifts after going through concussion protocol, according to Stars coach Peter DeBoer, who called it a dangerous hit.
The game at Dallas was Rempe’s first back in the NHL after being recalled from the minors following the Rangers' trade of winger Kaapo Kakko to Seattle. Rempe spent the summer training to become a better fighter but also worked to become a better all-around player.
Now 22, Rempe has spent the vast majority of the season with Hartford of the American Hockey League. He played less than six minutes in the 3-1 win against the Stars, after which Rangers coach Peter Laviolette told reporters he thought Rempe “had a big impact on the game.”
“I’d like to stay away from the 5-minute major, but he’s doing his best to hit bodies and make a difference in the game,” Laviolette said. "Our guys really rallied around that at the end.”
AP NHL: https://www.apnews.com/hub/NHL
Dallas Stars goaltender Jake Oettinger (29) slaps the puck away on an attack by New York Rangers' Matt Rempe (73) in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) controls the puck on an attack as Dallas Stars' Lian Bichsel, front right, attempts to break up the play in the second period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) is escorted to the penalty box by official Tommy Hughes, before being ejected for game misconduct, in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73) leaves the game after being ejected for game misconduct in the third period of an NHL hockey game against the Dallas Stars in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
New York Rangers center Matt Rempe (73), who was ejected for game misconduct, slams Dallas Stars' Miro Heiskanen (4) against the boards in the third period of an NHL hockey game in Dallas, Friday, Dec. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Tony Gutierrez)
