Yahoo Movies Brothers accuse police of ‘racial profiling’ after being searched over a fist bump
A pair of brothers who were searched after bumping fists in the middle of the street claim they are victims of ‘racial profiling’.
Liam Joseph and his brother Dijon bumped fists after they met outside of a takeaway in Deptford High Street, south-east London, when they were approached by officers from the Met’s territorial support group.
Dijon’s arm was grabbed by one of the officers, who said she saw the brothers exchanging drugs.
Video footage shows Dijon protesting at being detained as an officer accuses him of acting aggressively.
Dijon replies: ‘I’m not being aggressive… I’m a big guy.’
As Dijon’s brother is restrained and searched, an officer took his keys and searched his car after finding nothing illegal in his possession.
Officers found Dijon’s girlfriend’s bank card in his wallet and arrested him for handling stolen goods, however, they released him after speaking to her on the phone.
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In his Facebook post of the incident, Dijon said that his girlfriend had given him her card so she ‘would not be tempted to use it’.
Speaking about the arrest, youth worker Dijon said: ‘There was no dialogue. There was no attempt to get our attention whatsoever, and it shouldn’t be that way.’
He added to the Guardian: ‘I do want an apology. They know what they’ve done on the day, they know how they treated us; they know they profiled us … how can I make them understand that people do look like me – they are tall, they are black, and they have dreads and they have deep voices – but we’re good people.’
Brother Liam added: ‘I felt ashamed, and I felt disrespected and I felt threatened; and it felt like it was a toe-to-toe situation.’
The brother allege that their arrest was a clear case of racial profiling, and that officers used unnecessary force.
The incident is now under investigation by the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
Yahoo News UK has contacted the Metropolitan Police for comment.
