DMO Deejay posted video showing officer saying black people in ‘gangster-style clothing’ were more likely to be stopped

The police watchdog has launched an investigation after an officer pulled over a DJ driving a Bentley in central London and told him that black people driving in “gangster-style clothing” are more likely to be stopped.

DMO Deejay, 27, who plays weekly at the Dstrkt nightclub in Leicester Square, posted a video on YouTube, taken in early January, of him being pulled over by police while driving the Bentley GTC convertible in Piccadilly.

In the footage, the Metropolitan police officer tells the DJ: “This isn’t racist, it’s a fact. Predominantly, the criminal profile of people who do it [commit robberies in the area] are black people.

“So, naturally, if you see a car full of black lads, maybe dressed in gangster-style clothing or whatever, when they’re driving down there, they’re getting stopped.”

The video gained widespread social media attention with more than 85,000 views and prompted the Independent Police Complaints Commission (IPCC) to launch its investigation.

IPCC commissioner Cindy Butts said: “This incident has received widespread social media attention and in the press and it is therefore important for public confidence in policing that the matter is independently investigated. That is why we required the Metropolitan police to refer the incident to the IPCC.

“We know that the incident itself lasted for around 16 minutes, the officer was wearing and had activated his body-worn video at the time, so it’s important we examine all of the circumstances surrounding the stop.”

Facebook Twitter Pinterest DMO Deejay’s YouTube video.

DMO Deejay told the Guardian he never made an official complaint about the incident because he simply wanted to raise awareness that it had happened. “I wanted to work with the police to stop it from happening, because it’s just frustrating. If you put in a complaint it’s not going to help other people because only I will get justice. Other black people will still get stopped. I want to build this bridge back between the community and the police. It just needs to stop,” he said.

The DJ said the Met had contacted him after the incident to ask if he wanted to put in a complaint, and he said he would rather accept the apology and move forward.



“I said maybe we can sit down and look at how they are profiling people, and see if we can come to a resolution. They said they wanted to work alongside me, so at least I can get something out of it. Me making a complaint, the guy might get sacked, but what about the other people who have the same view?



“It’s frustrating and embarrassing, especially if there’s other people around because it draws attention to you. If you see a police officer with somebody you automatically think negative things don’t you? I’ve come to a point where I’ve lost trust in the police because I don’t know what they’re thinking.”



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The incident was the second time on the same day that the DJ, who has over 22,000 fans on Facebook, was pulled over. He said the first incident was when he was driving a Mercedes C63 AMG through Ealing Common en route to a meeting. “They said it was a random stop check, but I could see the officer receiving instructions on his radio of who to stop,” the DJ told the London Evening Standard at the time. “I was 40 minutes late to a meeting with a car dealership. I did not appreciate that.”



DMO Deejay said he had hired the Bentley to film a promotional video in which he drives around London handing out free CDs to fans at their homes. But he was pulled over before making it to anyone’s house.

In the video, the DJ says: “Are you hearing what this guy just said to me? If I’m in a car full of black guys and we’re dressed in gangster clothing, the criminal profile of people around that area, which is Piccadilly, which is right outside Dstrkt where I play every single Tuesday as my DJ residency, means that they’re getting stopped.”

Investigators are to review the footage, speak to all involved and any witnesses to find out the reason behind the stop.