Four Metropolitan police officers have been accused of racially profiling the black manager of footwear chain, Footasylum Bexleyheath, in Greater London on June 18.
Nicholas Garande, aged 29, captured the scene, in which a police officer, accompanied by three other officers, tells the filmer they entered the store because of a burglar alarm.
"I set off the alarm.
I don't know why you're still here," Garande replies.
“I told you I work here.
I’ve got my lanyard, it says manager, Footasylum, so I don’t know what the problem is.” After an over seven-minute long dispute, the police officers leave Footasylum when Garande's colleague confirms his employment.
“Your colleague here is the only reason you’re not getting arrested," one officer can be heard saying.
Garande told Newsflare: "Police broke into my workplace to accuse me of burglary because a black man cannot be the manager of a retail store in their eyes." He continued: "Now I’ve been fired by Footasylum because apparently, I was being unprofessional and inappropriate but luckily I filmed the whole thing, and you can see I did nothing wrong.
"Only today did I get a letter to invite me to a disciplinary meeting where they are threatening to dismiss me on the 3rd of July, after two weeks on suspension, because the police alleged I was verbally and physically abusive to them, and obstructing them when they came to victimise me.
"Footasylum has never given me any photographic identification the lanyard is only an access card with nothing at the back and management at the front.
I didn’t have any other form of ID at the time, and they were keen on arresting me, and my white colleague never got asked to show any ID." In 2016, according to the Bexley Times, PC Dean was served a final warning after he allegedly placed a man in a chokehold during a fight.
Garande has registered an official complaint about PC Dean to the Independent Office for Police Conduct.
The Metropolitan Police told Newsflare: "We are aware of a tweet and video circulating on social media.
"The incident relates to officers from the South East Command Unit who responded to an alarm at a shop in Bexleyheath.
"This shop had been the venue of an attempted burglary approximately three weeks earlier; a man was arrested and charged in connection with this offence.
"Officers attended the latest call and found a man at the premises.
"The officers explained to him why they were there and attempted to establish his identity, and whether he was associated with the shop.
"Once his identity was confirmed, and officers found that no offences had been committed, they left.
"The man was not arrested.
"Senior officers from the South-East Command Unit have been made aware of the content of the tweet and have spoken with the officers involved.
"They would welcome the opportunity to speak with the man to address any concerns he may have resulting from this interaction with local officers."
