PA Media
Two officers who were sacked for gross misconduct after their stop and search of two athletes have won an appeal against their dismissal.
Met PCs Jonathan Clapham and Sam Franks were fired in October 2023 after their search of the British world championships medallist Bianca Williams and Portugal Olympic sprinter Ricardo Dos Santos.
The two men have been handed their jobs back after winning their appeal against a ruling which said they lied by saying they could smell cannabis during the stop and search.
During the incident in July 2020, the couple were pulled over by the officers in Maida Vale, west London, and searched on suspicion of having drugs and weapons, but nothing was found.
The officers had followed Ms Williams and her partner Mr Dos Santos as they drove from training to their home with their baby, who was then three months old.
Mr Clapham and Mr Franks were dismissed after a disciplinary panel found they had lied about smelling cannabis when they pulled over the athletes.
The finding was overturned by the Police Appeals Tribunal which found the original decision was “irrational” and “inconsistent”.
