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news
Black cyclist stopped by Met.PNG“Lights displayed” not “licence plate” says Met in response to outcry over video of officer stopping black cyclist
The Metropolitan Police have said that one of its officers told a young black man stopped while cycling last week that he had not got “lights displayed” and not that he did not have a “licence plate” on his bicycle.
Many social media users who watched footage of the incident posted to social media – and, we have to admit, those of us at road.cc – misheard the officer’s words as the latter.
police getting more bored by the day, whole bully van parked cos a black yute riding his bike🤦🏽♂️ pic.twitter.com/Io6GRbbAkn
— dimi (@7dimii) June 30, 2020
While both seem unlikely terms to use, once pointed out it does sound much more like she said the phrase “lights displayed,” which is the less unlikely of the two to use, we suppose.
In a statement, the force also said that no further action would be taken in relation to a complaint it had received about the incident, which happened at around 2020 hours last Tuesday 30 June on Upney Road in Barking.
Police said that officers approached the man, who was riding his bike on the pavement, “and stopped him to discuss the manner of his cycling.
“He was asked where he was going and he said he was going home.
“The man was not searched, was not arrested and after a short time he was allowed on his way.”
The cyclist filmed part of the exchange with officers, in which a female officer said he had been stopped for “anti-social behaviour.”
He asked her, “ Does this look like anti-social behaviour to you?” and was told, “Well, the way you’re cycling around, at the moment you’re in and out of the road, on the pavement, on the road, not wearing a [mumbled], not wearing a helmet, not got your lights displayed, not got your hi-viz … ”
“So everyone who’s not wearing a helmet, it’s anti-social behaviour when riding a bike?” the cyclist replied.
In its statement issued today, the Met said: “Police are aware of a video circulating on social media showing an officer providing advice to the man.
“Contrary to some reports, we do not believe the officer in the video referenced a licence plate, but that she said the bike was being ridden without ‘lights displayed’.
“A public complaint was recorded due to comments made on social media and assessed by the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards.
“This assessment concluded that the officers were perfectly justified in using their powers under the Road Traffic Act to stop the male due to the manner of his cycling, which was both unsafe and anti-social towards other road users.
“The officers were professional, and gave sound advice regarding safe cycling – the male was not wearing a helmet, was dressed all in black, and was not displaying lights in the dusk.
No further action has been taken,” police added.
Simon joined road.cc as news editor in 2009 and is now the site’s community editor, acting as a link between the team producing the content and our readers. A law and languages graduate, published translator and former retail analyst, he has reported on issues as diverse as cycling-related court cases, anti-doping investigations, the latest developments in the bike industry and the sport’s biggest races. Now back in London full-time after 15 years living in Oxford and Cambridge, he loves cycling along the Thames but misses having his former riding buddy, Elodie the miniature schnauzer, in the basket in front of him.
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39 comments
Reminds me of what happened to me when I was a nipper. I was leaving my mates house to go home and as I went to cycle across a road, a car came along towards me. (It was a shit place to cross in hindsight as there was a tight bend to the right). To save me stopping and starting, I cycled along the road for a couple of meters and then crossed when the car went by. Literally as I turned to go across copper walked around the corner of the pavement I was aiming for and stopped me.
"You shouldn't be cycling on the road without any lights on" he warned sternly.
"But I was only crossing" I replied.
"It is not safe to ride on the road without any lights in the dark" was his next line.
"But it isn't dark and I was just crossing the road once the car had passed" (It was probably just getting duskish hence me going home.)
"Just cycle on the pavement and hurry up home and get lights for your bike"
"Ok"
So it seems that Coppers have been stating that for at least 40 years. What really pissed me off was the next day in school, the teacher came over and asked me if I had told my parents about me being in trouble with the Police. It turned out my mate had told people at school with the obvious exaggerations of Junior school kids. So then I had to try to explain to another adult that nothing had happened.
A little lesson on how police operate; if they want a chat about how you are operating a vehicle in public and you give them attitude, they will come up with a list of things just to check your attitude..which is what I saw in this video.
Attitude? Politely questioning why the officer thinks not wearing a helmet constitutes antisocial behaviour is "attitude"? Why not just call him an uppity n****r who should know his place and be done with it?
'Attitude'
You mean daring to ask a question about some mumbled list which was indistinct and not clear.
It's what's known as the attitude test. The more grief you give, the more things they'll find. Sometimes people need to remember who's going to 'win' an argument, and STFU. We still didn't see the circumstances leading up to this encounter, but going purely on what the officer said, I'd hazard a guess that the "yute" may have been riding in a fashion which was deemed unacceptable by the officer(s) and took umbrage to being asked to stop doing so.
[/quote]
It's what's known as the attitude test. The more grief you give, the more things they'll find. Sometimes people need to remember who's going to 'win' an argument, and STFU. We still didn't see the circumstances leading up to this encounter, but going purely on what the officer said, I'd hazard a guess that the "yute" may have been riding in a fashion which was deemed unacceptable by the officer(s) and took umbrage to being asked to stop doing so.
[/quote]
Oh right, you've sorted the whole problem there - all any black person stopped by police need do is shut the fuck up and they'll be OK? Jesus.
Why do you assume that the lad was riding incorrectly? On the basis of the word of an officer who thinks she can nick him for ASB on the basis that he's got no helmet, hi viz or lights (an hour before sunset)? I assume that as five officers stopped this youth if there was anything they could justifiably charge him with they would have, but to their chagrin he didn't lose his shit with them but politely and non-aggressively questioned their premise and they had to let him go.
It's what's known as the attitude test. The more grief you give, the more things they'll find. Sometimes people need to remember who's going to 'win' an argument, and STFU. We still didn't see the circumstances leading up to this encounter, but going purely on what the officer said, I'd hazard a guess that the "yute" may have been riding in a fashion which was deemed unacceptable by the officer(s) and took umbrage to being asked to stop doing so.
[/quote]
Oh right, you've sorted the whole problem there - all any black person stopped by police need do is shut the fuck up and they'll be OK? Jesus.
Why do you assume that the lad was riding incorrectly? On the basis of the word of an officer who thinks she can nick him for ASB on the basis that he's got no helmet, hi viz or lights (an hour before sunset)? I assume that as five officers stopped this youth if there was anything they could justifiably charge him with they would have, but to their chagrin he didn't lose his shit with them but politely and non-aggressively questioned their premise and they had to let him go.
[/quote]
Pretty much right. It's not applicable just black people though. The fact the "yute" was black just made it more newsworthy.
I'd prefer police focussed on actual crimes rather than whether people pass some arbitrary attitude test. I can't see why the general public have to abide by some arbitrary officer's interpretation of a correct, subservient attitude.
I reckon the guy in question probably knows better than most of us how (...some of...) the police operate. Including this shitty power-trip tendency to make people's lives more difficult and unpleasant if the officer thinks that someone isn't kow-towing to the required degree.
All you're doing is pointing out the status quo. And it for most people, that's pretty much just a statement of the obvious - we know that's how the police operate.
It doesn't mean it's right, though.
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