A middle-aged black couple quizzed by officers who demanded they show identification – because they were ‘driving a motor vehicle on a road’ – say they were made to feel like criminals.
Ingrid Antoine-Oniyoke, 47, and her 50-year-old husband Falil Oniyoke were stopped in Ipswich on Tuesday after one of them ‘glanced’ at a parked police car.
The couple were pulled over, ordered to provide a driving licence and told they were jumping on the Black Lives Matter ‘bandwagon’ when they questioned why they were stopped.
Suffolk Police has since issued an apology over the incident but the couple remain ‘hurt’ about the way they were treated, having initially just thought they’d been pulled over to help an investigation.
Ingrid Antoine-Onikoyi and her husband Falil Onikoyi, pictured together, were stopped in Ipswich on Tuesday after one of them ‘glanced’ at a parked police car
Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke told Sky News: ‘I thought ‘hold on a minute, this is reminding me of something I’ve seen on the television and that’s not going to be my husband’, so I instantly pressed the button.’
Her husband added: ‘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.’
In footage that has sparked anger on social media, the male officer is heard explaining why their car was stopped.
He 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 provide proof of drivers (licence).’
Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke tells him: ‘You are kidding us right now. You can see why people get upset.’
The officer then replied: ‘All that I need is proof that you are the driver of that vehicle, and you live here and we are gone.’
Suffolk Police have issued a public apology after two of its officers, one of whom is pictured here, stopped a middle-aged black couple and demanded they show their IDs because they were ‘driving a motor vehicle on a road’
Ingrid Antoine-Oniyoke, 47, and her husband Falil Oniyoke, 50, were stopped in Ipswich on Tuesday after ‘glancing’ at a police car parked near Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke’s mother’s house
The female officer tells them ‘You have turned something irate that shouldn’t be. You are just jumping on the bandwagon – that’s not okay’
When the couple take offence to being pulled over for seemingly little reason, the female officer seems to suggest that Mr and Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke are jumping on the Black Lives Matter ‘bandwagon’.
The female officer tells them: ‘You have turned something irate that shouldn’t be. You are just jumping on the bandwagon – that’s not okay’.
The couple, from Watford, Herts, had been staying at Ingrid’s mother’s house while their own house was renovated.
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’ while her husband says ‘this is profiling’.
‘You can laugh and shake your head as much as you want,’ Mrs Antoine-Oniyoke says.
The couple’s daughter Maja Antoine-Oniyoke, pictured, posted the exchange on social media which prompted Suffolk Police to issue an apology
The couple, from Watford, are staying with Irene’s mother in Ipswich while their house is being renovated. They were stopped close to the property.
Their daughter Maja posted footage her mother had filmed of the exchange on Twitter, prompting Suffolk Police to issue an apology.
A Suffolk Police spokesman said last night: ‘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, told the PA Media news agency 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.
‘Some have even said they have had encounters with that male officer in particular.’
Her parents had only been to the garage to collect her mother’s car and had ‘glanced’ at the police car parked in the quiet street as they returned.
The two officers only left when her father showed them ID.
MailOnline has contacted the Independent Office for Police Conduct to see if they are investigating the incident.