Video shows Cambridgeshire police officer telling driver: ‘I stopped you because you’re a black male’
A video showing a Cambridgeshire police officer telling a driver that the reason he pulled him over is “because he’s black” is being examined by the force.
The footage, shared more than 87,000 times on Facebook, was filmed more than five years ago in Ely but has only just been made public by the driver’s sister amid the global Black Lives Matter protests.
In the video, the officer says: “The reason I stopped you is – when you came out The Barns – no offence to you, you’re a black male. I’m not going to lie to you.”
When the driver suggests that this is racism, the officer responds: “I’m not saying that at all. The reason I stopped you, and I’ll explain if you let me finish, in this area we have number of drug dealers – I’m not saying you’re a drug dealer – that come up from other areas that don’t live anywhere around here.”
The driver tells the officer he lives in the area but is told: “I haven’t seen you before and I’ve been a local officer for a long, long time here.”
The officer tells the driver his car had “disappeared”, which he found “strange”.
He adds: “I’m not accusing you of being a drug dealer, I’m not accusing you of being a criminal, but if I don’t stop people, how can I do my job?” Read More
