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Police force black cyclist to remove shoes in 'humiliating' stop-and-search

Mani Arthur / Instagram
Mani Arthur / Instagram

A black cyclist was pulled over for a “degrading” stop-and-search by a police officer who claimed he had smelt cannabis on him.

Mani Arthur, the founder of Black Cyclists Network, said he was “harassed and humiliated in a public space” in video of the incident.

The video he posted on Instagram showed the cyclist removing his shoes and being patted down by the police officer, who admitted he could no longer smell cannabis.

“After the search you don’t smell it?” laughed someone off camera.

“You might want to check under my helmet because I might have cannabis underneath it as well,” Mr Arthur said while being searched. “We don’t do the helmet,” the officer said.

“Are you satisfied that I do not have cannabis on me?” asked the cyclist after being patted down. The police officer said he was.

Mr Arthur saidthe officer approached him while he was waiting at traffic lights, slightly over the line where vehicles stop. He said he was asked to reverse, but that he told the officer doing so would have been dangerous.

He claimed the officer then called him back as he was riding off and told him he smelt cannabis on him during their conversation.

The cyclist was then searched for drugs.

View this post on Instagram

Today was supposed to be a historic moment for @blackcyclistsnetwork and @devercycles. . . This afternoon at around 2.39pm at the junction of Woburn Pls and Euston Rd. I was detained and searched by a police officer under the suspicion of “smelling” of marijuana. I was harassed and humiliated in a public space. . . To say that I am pissed off is an understatement. Luckily for me, fellow BCN members @schnappless and @urmyside were present and recorded the incident. . . In short, I was waiting in traffic for a green light. Three police officers were crossing the road. The one in the video told me to reverse my bicycle back behind the white line were vehicles have to stop. I was not blocking the pedestrian crossing. . . I told the officer that I would be putting myself in danger if I reversed because a small HGV was sitting directly behind me and I would end up in the driver’s blind spot if I followed his instructions. I explained to the officer that usually there are cycle box lanes ahead of vehicle stop lines to protect cyclists and because there is a lack of one, I was using my common sense to avoid putting myself in danger. . . The officer tried again but I resisted and he turned around to join his colleagues as they were walking away. The lights changed to green. . . I was riding off to join Aaron and Hugo, who by that point were in the middle of the junction when I heard a call from the officer to turn back. . . I walked over to the officer on the pavement. He asked for my I.D. and informed me that he smelled cannabis on me during our exchange. As a result he needed to search me for possession. He searched me by the side of the road. Before the search, I asked him and his colleagues if they smell cannabis on me. They said yes. After the search. They conveniently said they did not smell cannabis on me. . . I am very annoyed at having to go through such a degrading and humiliating experience. It seemed to me like a gross abuse of power by an officer who tried to show off to his colleagues and made up a reason as retribution for his failed attempt. . . . @metpolice_uk . .

A post shared by Mani (@blackcyclist) on Nov 17, 2019 at 2:59pm PST

“I am very annoyed at having to go through such a degrading and humiliating experience,” he said.

“It seemed to me like a gross abuse of power by an officer.”

Detective Superintendent Andy Cox of the Metropolitan Police's Roads and Transport Policing Command said: “While no formal complaint has been received about the incident, we have spoken to the officer involved to establish the exact circumstances and so any learning identified can be implemented.

“We will also endeavour to make contact with the cyclist involved to get their views.

“Metropolitan Police officers carry out hundreds of interactions with people throughout London every day and we welcome the fact that their actions are scrutinised so, where appropriate, they can be held to account.”

Mr Arthur is the founder of Black Cyclists Network, a group which aims to connect BME cyclists, and was on his way back from a group ride when he was stopped, according to Cycling Weekly.

He said the incident happened around 2pm near Euston Station in London.