Musician Fuse ODG says Met Police 'racially profiled' him after being hauled out of car and handcuffed in Brixton
20 May 2023, 11:53
Singer Fuse ODG has formally complained to the Met Police after saying he was "racially profiled" and handcuffed by officers in Brixton.
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Nana Richard Abiona, who was born in London, shared footage from February 28 of police telling him they could smell cannabis.
In the video, officers question the musician and his manager, Andre Hackett, then force him out of the car, putting handcuffs on him as he protests.
The men later ask police to explain why they were stopped, and said no drugs were found in the car.
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The Met says the incident is being assessed by its Directorate of Professional Standards and a voluntary referral has been made to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The British artist behind hits such as Antenna said he had originally did not want to share the video as he is "exhausted" seeing them and "it's just embarrassing".
He said he spent six hours in A&E because of how tight the cuffs were and has suffered from neck and back pain since then.
"It's wild that this is the normal reality for too many of us growing up in this country but even wilder is that this is still the reality in a post George Floyd world," he said on his Instagram post.
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"In the past months, we have seen so many videos of police officers beating up and even kneeling on our black children in the UK. I know because a lot of the time they come to me for help.
"The sad reality is that as a black man living in this system, it doesn't matter how much money you make or the positive impact that you have on the world, they still only see you as one thing.
"This isn't the first time this has happened to me or @mrhackett1. At one point, it was almost a weekly occurrence.
"The difference is that at this stage in life, we are now in the position to have the resources at our disposal to deal with these issues differently. We have filed a formal complaint with the @metpolice_uk and we are very grateful to @tundeokewale of @UrbanLawyers who has come to stand in the gap for us.
"That said, we are not holding our breaths for justice from this system. The real battle is internal...the real battle is won when we don’t let them break our confidence and we maintain our identity and dignity."
