Police 'changed story' after claiming to smell cannabis through closed window, says Fuse ODG

Social media video showed the moment Fuse ODG was pulled from the car and handcuffed - as our Senior Correspondent Ronke Phillips reports

Police have been accused of changing their story after claiming to have smelt cannabis through a closed car window before pulling a man from the vehicle and handcuffing him.

Musician Fuse ODG and his manager Andre Hackett were spotted sitting in the car by officers in Brixton at the end of February.

The pair claim they were racially profiled by four officers whose story didn't add up and kept being altered as they asked police to justify their actions.

"When they banged on the window they said straight away 'get out'," Fuse ODG told ITV News London.

"Then he opened the door and I said 'what are you doing?'. He was grabbing me and his colleague joined in from the back and held me from my neck.

"He pulled me out and handcuffed me forcefully and no communication. No communication and I said 'don't close the door'," Fuse ODG explained.

The London-born Afrobeat artist asked a woman who was walking past to film what was happening while he asked for police not to shut the van door.

"We have seen so many things happen in the past and you don't know what could potentially happen behind closed doors," Fuse ODG said.

He added: "I asked why we were stopped. And they said it was because they could smell cannabis in the air.

"Then I asked why the police stopped - because we were stationary. Then he changed the story and said there was an undercover officer walking past and saw drugs in the door handle of the car - but the doors were closed!

"So now he is changing his story.

"I asked how did he smell cannabis when the window was up?"

Fuse ODG shared footage of the incident on Instagram where he revealed he spent six hours in A&E because the handcuffs were clamped around his wrist so tightly.

The pair believed police saw what they thought were two black criminals who potentially had drugs on them.

"It's a very dangerous world view of us as a people and that to me re-affirms everything we are working on," Fuse ODG said.

The case is being looked at by officers from the Directorate of Professional Standard and the Met has referred itself to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

In a statement the IOPC said: "We are aware of a video showing part of an incident on 28 February in Brighton Terrace, Brixton in which a man in a vehicle was stopped and searched for drugs.

"A public complaint has been received and this has been assessed by officers from the Met’s Directorate of Professional Standards. A voluntary referral has been made on 19 May to the Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC).

"Since the circumstances of this incident are subject to an ongoing public complaint it is inappropriate for us to provide further information. We will remain in contact with the complainant during this process."

Andre said the police's story appeared to be full of holes - unless the officers had the power of X-ray vision.

He said: "There is a prevailing world view that black people are seen as detractors of society rather than builders of it.

"It is pervasive through the whole of society - that view in our schools and politics and hospitals and workplace that creates a hostile environment for us as black people.

"100% what we experienced was racial profiling.

"When I questioned him on the reason he was stopping us it didn't stack up. How can you see something through a door? Unless you have X-ray vision it's not possible."

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