Suffolk Police have apologised after two officers stopped a black couple and demanded ID because they were “driving a motor vehicle on a road”.
In footage of the incident, which occurred in Ipswich on Tuesday, an officer apparently accuses the couple of “jumping on the bandwagon” of the Black Lives Matter protests.
Ingrid Antoine-Oniyoke, 47, and her husband Falil Oniyoke, 50, were stopped after “glancing” at a police car parked near her mother’s house.
In the video, a male officer says: “At the end of the day, whether it looks funny or not, you were driving a motor vehicle on a road, so therefore I am requiring you to require proof of driving (licence).”
Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke tells him: “You are kidding us right now. You can see why people get upset.”
The officer replies: “All that I need is proof that you are the driver of that vehicle and you live here, and we are gone.”
The couple, from Watford, had been staying at her mother’s house while their own house was renovated.
In an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, the female officer tells them: “You have turned something irate that shouldn’t be. You are just jumping on the bandwagon of the current climate.”
The male officer then tells Mr Oniyoke and Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke “you look suspicious”.
He continued: “You can argue and you can say ‘why, why, why’ the whole time.”
Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke tells them “this is disgusting”, with her husband adding that “this is profiling”.
“You can laugh and shake your head as much as you want,” Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke goes on.
The two officers only left after being shown ID.
Part of the incident was filmed by Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke, and outrage followed when the couple’s daughter Maja posted it on Twitter.
This prompted the apology, with the force saying: “Suffolk Constabulary is aware of the video circulating on social media involving two of our officers.
“Having looked at the issues raised by a large number of people, particularly regarding certain comments which were made on the video, we would like to apologise for the offence these have caused.”
It continued: “The constabulary is very aware of the depth of feeling surrounding the events of the last few weeks and the issue of racism in our society.
“We always try to ensure we police all our communities with dignity, respect and fairness. Where those values are not met we will do everything we can to learn from that.”
Maja, a student stated that she found the clip so upsetting it was hard to watch.
“My grandma and my uncle live (in Ipswich) – my uncle and quite a lot of the black community in Ipswich in response to this have said there is an issue with race and the police,” she said.
