Suffolk Police officers who stopped black couple for 'driving on a road' to be investigated

Authored by news.sky.com and submitted by Dade__Murphy

Officers who stopped a black couple for "driving a motor vehicle on a road" will be investigated, the police watchdog has said.

Ingrid Antoine-Onikoyi, 47, and her husband Falil Onikoyi, 50, were stopped as they drove a BMW near her mother's house in Ipswich on 9 June.

A mobile phone video shot by Mrs Antoine-Onikoyi shows a Suffolk Police officer demanding to see her husband's driving licence because they "looked suspicious".

Image: The video was posted by the couple's daughter. Pic: @maobxby

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-Onikoyi 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."

When questioned, in an apparent reference to the Black Lives Matter movement, the officer then accused them of "jumping on the bandwagon of the current climate".

The Independent Office for Police Conduct (IOPC) is now investigating the incident, which left the couple feeling "hurt" and "confused".

Mr Onikoyi told Sky News at the time: "There was no excuse. There was no reasonable reason given other than we drove past and looked at them."

Image: Suffolk Police apologised for 'any offence caused' after its officers stopped the couple

Mr Onikoyi continued: "I think I felt harassed as to the rationale behind it.

"Exposed, because it was open near where we live and everyone could see what was going on.

"And made to feel like a criminal, basically."

He added that he believes the couple, from Watford, were stopped because he was a "black person driving a car of a certain marque".

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Suffolk Police apologised after the footage was shared widely online, saying the force "would like to apologise for the offence caused" and was "very aware of the issue of racism in our society".

A force spokesman told Sky News it has voluntarily referred itself to the IOPC.

"The IOPC have decided they will conduct an independent investigation into the complaint and therefore it would not be appropriate for the force to comment further at this time," they said.

discourse_friendly on July 16th, 2020 at 17:48 UTC »

I got pulled over once for "not using my turn signal early enough" ,

So i asked if he saw my turn signal before the turn lane?

Yes he did.

So i asked how long is the turn lane?

300 feet

and what's the minimum distance to use a turn signal before turning?

100 feet.

... :) there is absolutely a certain level of "i want to pull over that car, let me make up a reason"

nramos33 on July 16th, 2020 at 17:13 UTC »

This happened to me in Georgia and Florida multiple times.

In 2017, I was driving a rental car to the Atlanta airport. I had cruise control on and was going 70 in a 70 in the right lane.

I was followed by cops for at least 10 minutes. After being followed for so long, I kept thinking, WTF. So I signaled, took an exit, and as I was on the exit they turned the lights on.

I pulled over into a gas station and they had me exit the vehicle. I apparently touched the yellow line at some point and that’s why they pulled me over. They asked me if I had medical conditions and a whole bunch of questions as I was standing at the front of the car.

They delayed me 20-30 minutes and gave me a warning.

I’ve also been stopped by cops for walking on the sidewalk next to a park.

Staying at a public park 5 minutes past curfew, for which a friend was given a ticket, she took the ticket for both of us since it was my last day in town.

For walking thru a crosswalk with the walk signal on, but having a hesitation in my gait. That’s what the cop said anyways.

Being at a scenic overlook. Cops pulled up behind the cars of myself and friends as we were stopped at a scenic overlook.

I’ve been pulled over in a small town as I was driving my convertible with the top down. No reason was given on that one.

The list goes on. Minorities get messed with by cops all the time. And if you think I might look intimidating, I’m a I have a PhD in library and information science. But who knows, maybe I’m a thuggish librarian lol.

ikilledyourfriend on July 16th, 2020 at 16:26 UTC »

I got stopped once and asked the cop why he had pulled me over. His response, “ You looked like you were going to run that red light.”

But I hadn’t........