‘Police kicked and pepper-sprayed us’
February 6 2012 at 09:00am
INLSA
DETAINED: Malcolm Collins spent nearly 24 hours in a cell after an alleged assault by police officers.
ANGELIQUE SERRAO
A NIGHT out on Friday turned nasty for more than a dozen people, some of whom claimed they had ended up being victims of police brutality.
One man was hit, pepper-sprayed and kicked while on the ground, a dozen had their cellphones slapped out of their hands while others were hit on the head, allegedly by three police reservists in Brackendowns in Alberton, Ekurhuleni.
There is cellphone video footage of part of the assault on the main victim, Malcolm Collins.
Collins was at a pub restaurant called The Tudors with friends on Friday night. He said he had heard that a friend’s girlfriend had been hit outside by a man and went to investigate.
A number of people went outside to find out what was happening and Collins said he was getting the two parties talking to each other when a police car with three uniformed officers pulled up.
“One of the policeman got out and screamed that he is giving everyone 10 minutes to disperse or he will arrest them for drinking in public,” Collins said.
He told the officer nobody was drinking. “He screamed at me saying, ‘Are you the clever one? I will arrest you for being drunk and disorderly’,” Collins said.
He replied, saying he was not drunk and Collins said the officer slapped him across the face and twisted his arm behind his back.
He then pushed Collins towards the police car and allegedly slapped him a few more times with his other hand, before putting him in the police car.
Darren Bedworth, who was also allegedly slapped by a policeman, said the crowd had shouted at the policeman, telling him he could not just hit someone. Some people started trying to record what was happening on their cellphone cameras.
“That’s when they started hitting people for no reason and slapping their cellphones from them,” Bedworth said. “I took my phone out and was hit on the head.”
Collins said when he saw people being hit, he climbed out of the police car and shouted at the officers, telling them they could not just hit people.
“That’s when they pepper-sprayed me,” he said.
“My eyes were burning and I was on the ground. I could feel the car tyre against my back. I screamed and said I wasn’t resisting and was kicked in the groin.”
Collins was arrested and taken to Brackendowns Police Station, where about a dozen people had gone to lay assault charges against the officers.
Warrant Officer William Masonda said an assault case had been opened against a policeman and that they were investigating.
