The daughter of a black couple who claimed they were racially profiled after officers stopped them for ‘driving a vehicle on a road’ said Suffolk Police have been ‘cleared of any wrongdoing’.
Ingrid Antoine-Oniyoke, 47, and her 50-year-old husband Falil Oniyoke were stopped near their home in Ipswich in June last year because one of them had ‘glanced’ at a 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.
Their daughter, Maja Antoine-Onikoyi, posted a video to social media showing her parents in the confrontation with officers.
Suffolk Police then issued an apology over the incident, particularly for ‘certain comments made in the video’, a force spokesman said.
But Maja claimed in a Twitter post on Thursday that a new investigation found the officers to be ‘100% right’ and that her mother had been blamed for ‘escalating’ the situation.
Suffolk Police have allegedly been cleared of any wrongdoing after they apologised to a black couple Ingrid Antoine-Oniyoke, 47, and her 50-year-old husband Falil Oniyoke, who claimed they were racially profiled by officers near their home in Ipswich last year
She wrote: ‘Just an update on this for anyone who remembers!
‘After it was investigated further, they came to the conclusion that the police officers involved were 100% right in their actions and the whole situation was actually my mums’ fault for ‘escalating’ it.
She added: ‘I have no words to be honest.’
The incident, which took place in June last year, happened when a neighbour allegedly reported the couple for paying ‘special attention’ to their house.
The video showed her parents in a confrontation with an officer asking them to provide proof they lived nearby.
However, Maja’s parents said they were staying with a relative and therefore the vehicle documents would not be registered to the address.
The female officer then said: ‘What you’ve done is just turn something’.
Maja’s mother then cut them off, pointing out that the police approached them first.
They were ‘driving a motor vehicle on a road’ and one of them had ‘glanced’ at a police car
Their daughter Maja Antoine-Onikoyi posted a video to social media showing her parents in the confrontation with officers
The female officer then continued, saying: ‘When you start getting irate, you’ve turned it into something it shouldn’t be.
‘You’ve just jumped on a bandwagon, and that’s not okay.’
The police said that they were alerted to the couple by a resident on the street.
The situation escalated further when Maja’s mother asked: ‘What did he tell you we burgled a shop? Do we look suspicious?’
The officers then denied that they said the couple looked suspicious.
The male officer said: ‘We stopped you to make enquiries, to make sure there is no connection. They have said you paid them attention.’
To which Maja’s mum retorts: ‘Oh my god so we can’t look at you driving past? It’s for looking at the police.’
As the argument continued, the female officer was seen laughing and shaking her head.
Maja claimed in a Twitter post on Thursday that a new investigation found the officers to be ‘100% right’ and that her mother had been blamed for ‘escalating’ the situation
The incident, which took place in June last year, happened when a neighbour allegedly reported the couple for paying ‘special attention’ to their house
Speaking at the time of the incident Maja said: ‘My parents went to pick up my mum’s car from being serviced, and when they came back, they glanced at the police car before getting out of their cars and going toward the house.
‘The police stopped them on the grounds that they glanced at the car and were ‘driving a motor vehicle on the road’.
‘So really it’s just everything in the video. There wasn’t much more to it.’
Rachel Kearton, Deputy Chief Constable said in a statement at the time:
‘Suffolk Constabulary is aware of the video circulating on social media involving two of our officers.
The female officer told them ‘You have turned something irate that shouldn’t be. You are just jumping on the bandwagon – that’s not okay’
‘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.
‘The constabulary is very aware of the depth of feeling surrounding the events of the last few weeks and the issues 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.’
The Independent Office for Police Conduct, which carried out the investigation, has been approached for comment.