Registran a un ciclista en Londres con la excusa de que huele a cannabis

Mani Arthur, ciclista y fundador del club BCN (Black Cyclists Network), fue sometido a un «humillante» registro por, supuestamente oler a cannabis, por parte de varios policías mientras rodaba por Londres.

Sucedió cuando estaba parado en un semáforo rojo, un poco más adelantado de la línea blanca en el suelo que indica hasta dónde se pueden detener los vehículos.

Justo en ese momento cruzaba por el paso de peatones un grupo de policías, cuando uno de ellos le pidió a Mani y a sus compañeros de retroceder hacia atrás, para no sobrepasar la línea blanca y así poder ver bien el semáforo.

Mani le aclaró que no podía tirar atrás porque ya habían coches, y que el semáforo lo podía ver perfectamente, a lo que los policías decidieron seguir su camino.

Hasta que, de repente, unos de los policías decidió rectificar, diciéndole a Mani que olía a Cannabis, y que le tenía que registrar.

Al ciclista no le quedó otra que hacerles caso y comenzar a quitarse los zapatos y dejarse palpar para cumplir con las órdenes de los agentes, pese al enfado que llevaba encima por el trato injustificado.

Mientras el registro tuvo lugar, sus compañeros lo grabaron, atónitos ante el comportamiento de los policías. Y por supuesto, no encontraron ninguna sustancia ilegal, admitiendo luego que ya no olía a cannabis…

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Today was supposed to be a historic moment for @blackcyclistsnetwork and @devercycles. . . This afternoon at around 2.39pm at the junction of Woburn Pls and Euston Rd. I was detained and searched by a police officer under the suspicion of «smelling» of marijuana. I was harassed and humiliated in a public space. . . To say that I am pissed off is an understatement. Luckily for me, fellow BCN members @schnappless and @urmyside were present and recorded the incident. . . In short, I was waiting in traffic for a green light. Three police officers were crossing the road. The one in the video told me to reverse my bicycle back behind the white line were vehicles have to stop. I was not blocking the pedestrian crossing. . . I told the officer that I would be putting myself in danger if I reversed because a small HGV was sitting directly behind me and I would end up in the driver’s blind spot if I followed his instructions. I explained to the officer that usually there are cycle box lanes ahead of vehicle stop lines to protect cyclists and because there is a lack of one, I was using my common sense to avoid putting myself in danger. . . The officer tried again but I resisted and he turned around to join his colleagues as they were walking away. The lights changed to green. . . I was riding off to join Aaron and Hugo, who by that point were in the middle of the junction when I heard a call from the officer to turn back. . . I walked over to the officer on the pavement. He asked for my I.D. and informed me that he smelled cannabis on me during our exchange. As a result he needed to search me for possession. He searched me by the side of the road. Before the search, I asked him and his colleagues if they smell cannabis on me. They said yes. After the search. They conveniently said they did not smell cannabis on me. . . I am very annoyed at having to go through such a degrading and humiliating experience. It seemed to me like a gross abuse of power by an officer who tried to show off to his colleagues and made up a reason as retribution for his failed attempt. . . . @metpolice_uk . .

Una publicación compartida de Mani (@blackcyclist) el 17 Nov, 2019 a las 2:59 PST