British athlete (born 1993)
Bianca Williams (born 18 December 1993) is a British athlete.[1] She competed for England at the 2014 Commonwealth Games, where she won bronze medals in the 200 m,[2] and in the 4 × 100 m relay.[3] She has also won two medals as part of the British team at the IAAF World Relays; with silver in the 4 × 200 m in 2014,[4] and bronze in the 4 × 100 m in 2015. She ranks fifth on the UK all-time list at 200m with her best of 22.45 secs.
In November 2023, Williams was named in the BBC's 100 Women list.[5]
Personal life
Williams lives in Maida Vale and in addition to her track career, works as a part-time tennis coach.[6][7] She is in a relationship with the Portuguese sprinter Ricardo dos Santos with whom she has a son, born in 2020.[8]
2020 police incident
On 4 July 2020, Williams and dos Santos accused the Metropolitan Police of racial profiling after having their car stopped and searched whilst returning from a training session. Williams uploaded a video of them both being detained and searched. After the incident occurred, Linford Christie shared Williams' video of the incident on Twitter, with the comment "Racist police aren't just in America #BLM".[9] Williams subsequently spoke with The Times and accused the police of racial profiling and acting violently towards her family. Keir Starmer said on LBC that senior Met officers should feel “very uncomfortable” about the force's handling of the case.[8][10][11]
The Met released a statement, saying the vehicle Williams was travelling in had been on the wrong side of the road, and that the driver had sped off when asked to stop.[12] They also said the Directorate of Professional Standards had reviewed footage from social media and officers' bodycams, and were satisfied there was no concern around the officers' conduct involved in the incident.[12] On 7 July 2020, the Met voluntarily referred the incident to the Independent Office for Police Conduct, for independent investigation into the incident.[13] Additionally, they stated that they were now treating the matter as a 'public complaint'.[13]
On 1 July 2021, it was announced that three of the six officers involved were under investigation for gross misconduct.[14] In January 2023, it was reported that five officers were to face a gross misconduct hearing, and that an investigator at the IOPC resigned in November 2020, complaining that her investigation of the incident had been "watered down".[15] The disciplinary hearing against the five officers, who deny the allegations, began on 18 September 2023.[16] Two of the five officers were found guilty of gross misconduct in that they had lied about smelling cannabis. None of the officers were found guilty of misconduct in relation to the stopping of the vehicle, or the handcuffing of the couple.[17] The two officers found guilty of gross misconduct were dismissed.[18] The police misconduct panel who considered the 2020 incident deemed Williams to be 'a credible and thoughtful witness' who had clearly been deeply affected by the incident.[19] After the officers were sacked, a crowdfunding page was set up for the officers' benefit. As at 30 October 2023, more than £140,000 had been raised for them. Williams said she was "shocked with the amount of money that’s been raised".[20]
Driving ban
On 4 December 2023, Magistrates imposed on Williams a six-month driving ban, 18 points on her driving licence and fines, surcharges and costs totalling £471. Williams pleaded guilty to failing on three separate occasions to advise the police, in writing, who it was that had been driving her Tesla Model 3 car. The vehicle was alleged to have been involved in an incident earlier in the year. The athlete told the court that she wasn't the driver at the time of the alleged incident and that imposing a ban may jeopardise her chances of qualifying for the 2024 Olympic Games. Williams told the Court she would have difficulty attending her training sessions if she had to rely on public transport. Following her guilty-plea, Williams' suspended driving licence has an accumulated total of 29 penalty points.[6][7]
