Leeds man says ‘racist’ stop and search turned him off joining police

Watchdog orders West Yorkshire police to reinvestigate complaint by Hesham Sharif over search last year

A black man abandoned his plans of being a police officer after he was subjected to a stop and search that he believes to have been based on racist profiling, by officers from the force he was hoping to join.

Hesham Sharif, 33, is a prominent member of the Somali community in Leeds. His brother is an officer in the Metropolitan police and he hoped to follow a similar career path. Sharif said he hoped he could be a bridge between communities of colour and the police.