A man who is understood to have been filming the reckless driving of vehicles in an official convoy was allegedly assaulted at the police station in White River, possibly by private security officers.
In a video of the alleged incident, posted on social media, it is apparent that police did not intervene.
The fiancée of the assaulted man posted footage to Facebook taken on her phone, along with a statement. In the statement she says she and the man were assaulted by armed men driving in convoy which included ‘a white VW, branded “Tactical Response Unit”… another white, similarly branded BMW SUV, and a Mercedes Benz Sedan, a black Mercedes Benz Bus, a grey Mercedes Benz Bus.. and other vehicles we were unable to identify at the time’. This attack appeared to be related to the couple’s filming reckless driving of vehicles in the convoy.
The IRR contacted Jacques Meiring of Divergent Ops in Nelspruit (the private security company of which the couple are clients) to clarify the details of this incident.
In the video, it looks as if the men assaulting the man on the ground are trying to wrest something from his hold. According to the members of Divergent Ops, this was the man’s cell phone which was taken and destroyed, presumably also destroying footage taken prior to the incident at the police station. It is unknown at this point if there were any eyewitnesses of what happened on the road.
Meiring said that, to his knowledge, the men who assaulted the couple at the police station had been in the convoy and belonged to another security company.
The fiancée of the assault victim called Divergent Ops at 12.33 from the police station and Divergent Ops dispatched two vehicles. When they arrived, it was unclear what was going on – there were armed men standing outside the police station. Four members of this group (allegedly involved in an earlier assault in the road in the time leading up to this incident) went into the police station and assaulted the victim. Divergent Ops reported that it initially appeared that the men were police in civilian clothes performing an arrest. When Divergent Ops officers tried to intervene, they were told by police to stand down. Divergent Ops explained that private security companies had full authority to protect bodies and assets on the premises of clients, but they had no jurisdiction on police property.
The armed men were allowed to leave after giving a statement to the police. By the time Meiring arrived, the armed men who had allegedly assaulted the victim had left. Meiring said he assisted the couple in reporting the matter. An attorney was also present at this stage.
News24 reported that police spokesperson Brigadier Leonard Hlathi said police management in Mpumalanga were aware of the video.
Hlathi was quoted as saying: ‘This incident is unfortunate and shows lawlessness on the part of the individuals involved as a police station is not a battleground. The conduct of the people who were involved in the physical fight is unacceptable and the man who appears on the video seen being pressed down to the ground is urged to register a criminal case for investigation purposes.’
He said Ehlanzeni district commissioner Major General Dianah Mashele had established a team led by two senior police officers to probe the matter and scrutinise the conduct of the police officers who were on duty on the day.
The incident was also reported to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID).
Hlathi added: ‘A criminal case of malicious damage to property and crimen injuria has been opened against the man who was pressed down as he is accused of colliding with a certain vehicle and allegedly uttered racial slurs.’
The IRR said it would monitor the outcome of the incident, pointing out that any instance of police failing to intervene when a citizen is abused in a police station is a form of citizen abuse.
The IRR has launched a campaign to encourage South Africans to join it in putting pressure on government to #StopCitizenAbuse. For more details, visit #StopCitizenAbuse — Institute Of Race Relations (irr.org.za), or become a friend of the IRR by SMSing your name to 32823.