Posted on January 10, 2017

Video: Policeman’s Shocking Explanation for Pulling Over ‘Black Guys’ Driving Bentley

Richard Wheatstone, Mirror, January 10, 2017

Scotland Yard has apologised after a police officer was filmed telling a DJ it was a “fact” black people commit more crime after pulling him over as he drove a Bentley through central London.

London-based DMO Deejay was using a go-pro camera to film a promotional video when he was followed and pulled over by police near Leicester Square on January 4.

The officer’s explanation was picked up on the footage as he stated it is common practice for black men to be stopped when they’re wearing ‘gangsta-style clothing’.

In the go-pro footage, the officer can be heard saying: “This isn’t racist, it’s a fact. Predominantly, the criminal profile of people who do it are black people.

“So, naturally, if you see a car full of black guys, maybe dressed in gangsta-style clothing or whatever, when they’re driving down there, they’re getting stopped.”

Scotland Yard has said it plans to apologise to the DJ and will speak to the officers involved.

The 27-year-old told Mirror.co.uk he regularly gets stopped and pulled over by police and hoped the footage would shame police into changing their ways.

He said: “It confirmed what you always suspect is the case. It’s there for everyone to hear and I hope it raises awareness of what it’s like for young black men.

“I’ve not said anything about it being racist and I don’t want to play the race card but it’s something that needs to stop.

“It disrupts your life being stopped like this, a few hours before this footage I was stopped for 40 minutes and it made me late for a meeting which I was fuming about.

“When people see you being pulled over it’s easy for them to assume you’ve done something wrong. I don’t want to be seen like that and it’s frustrating.”

Speaking of the incident caught on camera, the Birmingham-born DJ said he does not want to make a complaint to Scotland Yard but wants other officers to reflect on the footage.

He said: “I asked him what the issue was and he told me we think your car is stolen.

“The car hadn’t been reported stolen and they’ve got the ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition) so they’ll have known that. I asked him again ‘so why have you stopped me?’ and then he said what you can see on the video.

“There were two officers stood next to him and they looked really uncomfortable.

“I want to raise awareness for other officers and for other black people as well that this shouldn’t be allowed to happen.”

The footage was originally shared on the DJ’s YouTube channel and has since been viewed thousands of times.

Scotland Yard said it could ‘understand the frustration’ caused by the video.

A spokesman said: “The MPS is aware of the footage circulating on a social media, and it has been reviewed by the directorate of professional standards.

“A senior officer will make contact with the man who was stopped to apologise, and ask if he wishes to make a complaint.

“We can understand why based on what has been circulated in the footage why it has caused frustration.

“The officers will be spoken to about the explanation that they provided and to ensure we fully understand the circumstances of what happened.”