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Policemen
guilty in damages claim
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A North Gauteng High Court Judge has recommended that three
Hartbeespoort policemen should be personally held liable for maliciously
prosecuting the chairman of the local community policing forum.
Acting Judge Raylene Keightley last week ordered the police minister to pay R179 884 damages to Pieter Rautenbach as a result of his wrongful arrest, detention and malicious prosecution in 2008. She asked that her judgment be brought to the attention of the three policemen’s bosses for appropriate action and recommended steps to ensure that they were held personally responsible for the damages. “I see no reason why the taxpayer … should be held liable to fund this kind of conduct by police officers,” the judge said. Members of the Hartbeespoort police at first tried to arrest Rautenbach, who is also AfriForum’s head of local government affairs, on charges of intimidation and interfering with police duties while he and the station commander were addressing a public meeting of pensioners. He was later arrested and held in custody for two hours and appeared in court several times before the charges were withdrawn. Rautenbach’s arrest occurred after a local attorney phoned him to intervene in a case in which a client had laid a complaint against his daughter’s ex-boyfriend for breaching a protection order, but was himself then threatened with arrest. He had previously called for an investigation into alleged corruption at the police station after complaints by members of the public that Hartbeespoort police had threatened to arrest complainants in criminal cases on spurious charges in an attempt to extract bail money and lawyer’s fees. Detective Thomas Mokgatle claimed Rautenbach had barged into his office, tried to assault him and used violence in an attempt to remove a docket. Rautenbach, the attorney and his client all testified that no such incident had ever taken place and said Rautenbach had never even entered the detective’s office. Judge Keigtley rejected the evidence of Mokgatle and two of his colleagues, saying that they had planned Rautenbach’s arrest to extract revenge for his having initiated complaints against them. She said they no doubt felt aggrieved at having been accused of such serious misconduct and their version was implausible and improbable. By Ilse de Lange The Citizen 25/11/13 |
Sunday, July 5, 2015
Crimes of the South African Police Service
