Cele’s brutal force

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Cele’s brutal force

March 22 2011 at 01:18pm
http://www.iol.co.za/sundayindepende...orce-1.1045385


IN THE GRIP: Police brutality at Northgate Mall after an armed robbery at two cellphone shops. The person being manhandled is the brother-in-law of a man who was shot and wounded by the criminals. Picture: 702 Talk Radio



DIANNE HAWKER
South African police are becoming more brutal by the day, with civil cases against them pushing the contingent liability budget to a whopping R7.5 billion in the last financial year.

The Sunday Independent reveals today that the sharp spike in brutal action by the police has seen the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) investigating three times more severe assault cases last year than in 2001.

These revelations come as the country celebrates Human Rights Day and against the backdrop of a recent case in which the police have been accused of using excessive force on civilians.

Last month the police stormed a restaurant in Melville, Joburg, in the early hours and assaulted patrons. The incident was captured on closed circuit TV cameras inside the Catz Pyjamas and it shocked the nation.

Police researchers and lawyers who specialise in litigating against the police have warned that anecdotal reports of giving electric shocks, suffocation and other apartheid-style torture methods have become more prevalent.
Police wrestle Pretoria News chief photographer Masi Losi to the ground moments after he started taking pictures of them arresting a suspected thief outside the newspaper's office in Vermuelen Street. Picture: Phill Magakoe Picture: Phill Magakoe


ICD statistics compiled by a Centre for the Study of Violence (CSVR) and Reconciliation researcher indicate that:

l Since 2001/02 the number of assault investigations conducted by the ICD has trebled from 255 to 920 in 2009/10. Attempted murder cases it investigated have gone up over seven times from 43 in 2001/02 to 325 in the last financial year.
l The number of fatal shooting investigations was at an all time high over the past two financial years – at 556 in 2008/09 and 524 in 2009/10. This is compared with 458 in 1997/08, 293 in 2002/03 and an all time low of 281 in 2005/06.

And policing researchers say the spike in fatal shootings can be traced back to KwaZulu-Natal, where there has been a 173 percent increase in five years – from 75 in 2005/06 to 205 in 2009/10.

“These statistics raise the question of whether sections of the police in KwaZulu-Natal may have adopted an approach which is defined by the belief that extra- legal methods are not only justified but in fact necessary to address violent crime,” writes David Bruce of the CSVR.

Police ministry spokesman Zweli Mnisi says Minister Nathi Mthethwa is “extremely concerned about the continuing allegations of police brutality”.

Mnisi says strengthening ICD legislation is the first step to curbing the problem.
“We would rather have the police on the ground, fighting crime than in court defending themselves for their alleged abuses of civilians,” said Mnisi.

Meanwhile the courts are flooded with civil cases against the police that have pushed the contingent liability budget to R2bn more than the 2005/06 financial year when the police were prepared to pay R5.3bn for assault, damage to property, shooting incidents and other “police actions”.

The police say the amount is deliberately set high, and “not all of it was utilised”. “When you plan for possible lawsuits, it is best to have more in your budget, but
it does not necessarily imply you will utilise the whole amount. So in cases where it has not been fully utilised or lesser lawsuits were brought against the police, it will then be directed to (other) programmes,” said Mnisi.

The Sunday Independent has found a number of civil cases lodged in the Johannesburg and Pretoria High courts in which the applicants claim the police assaulted, gave electric shocks, or suffocated them, and they demand compensation.

The taxpayer carries the burden of paying for the police’s excessive use of force.
While individual cases are not astronomical, with cost awards added, they can mount up.

l Edwin Molokomme claims to have been assaulted, suffocated and given electric shocks at the Wierdabrug Police Station in Pretoria, before being “forced to sign an admission statement” on February 7, 2007.

l Chiza Ndaba claims to have been bundled into the boot of his car by members of the police in Worcester in the Western Cape, kicked repeatedly and pepper-sprayed on March 19, 2008.

l Isaac Sibiya claims that after his arrest on August 18, 2007 by Vosloorus police in Ekurhuleni, he was beaten so badly he was later hospitalised at the Natalspruit Hospital for over a month.

l Zipho Ndlovu claims Midrand police hooded him, placed him in a torture position and subjected him to electric shocks on May 27, 2010.

l Sifiso Makhubu claims the Diepkloof police smothered, sjambokked and shocked him on November 14, 2009.

While these cases have yet to be tested in court, the ICD is concerned about the resurgence of heavy handed tactics among the police, saying it has received “numerous reports of unwarranted attacks on civilians by police officers attached to special units”.

“These acts cannot be tolerated in a constitutional democracy. Policing in 2011 should be totally different from the apartheid past that we come from. Police officers should uphold the rule of law and not be the ones accused of breaking it,” said ICD executive director Francois Beukman.

This came after video footage emerged of police Tactical Response Team (TRT) members barging into Melville bar, the Catz Pyjamas, and assaulting patrons. The ICD says it is investigating the incident along with another, also involving TRT members, which took place at CJs Pub in Hillbrow.

Wits Law Clinic lawyer Peter Jordi says “there is level of criminality within the police much higher than the police will admit”.

Jordi has specialised in civil prosecutions against the police for over 25 years and says while he is not against them, he wants “the police to do a good job”.
“I saw definitely, anecdotally, that there was a lot of torture going on in the early 1990s. This is of ordinary criminal suspects. Then there was a diminution and now torture is definitely back at full throttle. It is happening all over the place. They torture you at the drop of a hat about nothing.”

Bruce, who studied ICD statistics from as far back as 1997, says statistics of fatalities in police custody are the most reliable and concerning.

He believes there could be hundreds more incidents of common assault at the hands of the police which are not being reported.

---------- Post added at 13:45 ---------- Previous post was at 13:40 ----------

Kindly Note: Do not take this thread as an opportunity to do some "Cop Bashing"

We as gunowners do not like to be tarred with the same brush, lets not do the same to the good cops.


Thanks
Camo

[MyLani]

I think that photo is misleading.
The one officer has handcuffs that he's probably been trying to arrest the suspect.
If the suspect fights arrest, force must be used to restrain him.
You can ask nicely all you want, but a violent suspect is only brought down by violence.

[Paul]

I think that photo is misleading.
The one officer has handcuffs that he's probably been trying to arrest the suspect.
If the suspect fights arrest, force must be used to restrain him.
You can ask nicely all you want, but a violent suspect is only brought down by violence.

So you didn't read the text accompanying the photo then?

[Johnboy]

I'd rather deal with heavy-handed cops than with a bunch of murderers roaming the streets knowing they can get away with it.

[Paul]

I'd rather deal with heavy-handed cops than with a bunch of murderers roaming the streets knowing they can get away with it.

I'm confused by your post.

[abhm]

So you didn't read the text accompanying the photo then?

Paul, I will say this, I have been at scenes where even distraught relatives get out of hand and sometimes their actions cause them to assault police, I was once forced to arrest the brother of a murder victim who tried very hard to assault me when I was attempting to console him, so I am a little wary of that top photograph, would love to know more on that, as for the rest! +100000000000000000000000000000000000

[feroze]

I'd rather deal with heavy-handed cops than with a bunch of murderers roaming the streets knowing they can get away with it.

You would have that attitude if the cops were brutalizing someone else, your attitude will change suddenly when it happens to you or a loved one. The Police are public servants, employed to enforce the laws within the boundaries set by those same laws. They are not a system of justice unto themselves. Torture is not permitted under any circumstances to extract a confession, regardless of the crime committed. Bear in mind that you paid for that R7.5B fund!!!

[farmer-el]

Signs of the times???? Our police are facing the most difficult period post '94. I'm sure they are feeling the pressure of the spiralling crime rate as much as any of us. If ever there is a time to win the "hearts and minds" of the South African people, nows the time.Go after the criminals, clear out the corrupt members of the force and act using the law and constitution of the country as a guide, but more importantly follow the laws of common humanity.

[curious george]

Better selection,training and leadership with personal accountability vs taxpayer's money...

[wormyzn]

Although I don't agree with some of the methods used. Let me say this bit. A suspect has no regard for life. Some police men are left scared not by their own doing but the justice systems failing them after a while you become a bruised solider.