Van Wyk couple thrown in Brits
SAPS cells, racially abused
Police
anti-white racist attack against Van Wyk family, Dec 25 2010, Brits
On
December 25 2010 Jaco van Wyk, his wife Mona, their three children and adult
family friend Lee Mark left their home at Sonop to spend the day together for a
family Christmas outing. They didn’t have an inkling that the Van Wyk parents
would be dumped in the Brits SAPS cells at 6pm that evening, racially abused by
crude-mouthed black police officers in front of their small children -
and the father threatened with gang-rape in the holding cells.
Freedom
Front plus councillor Elsa Lourens
– who spent many hours trying to get the arrested Afrikaans couple released
from the Brits police cells – has issued a detailed statement with visual
evidence. After her intervention, the Brits police dropped the charges against
the couple. However the party has initiated proceedings to lodge formal charges
against the police- and traffic-officials involved in the incident. Ms Lourens
condemned the racist abuse this defenceless family was targetted with by
government officials. She released evidence
in the form of pictures and video material taken of the incidents.
The Freedom Front Plus
says they have received a stream of complaints of racist-abuse and
police-aggression against their electorate this season - and today posted a
statement on their Facebook page, ‘Know
your Rights” , in Afrikaans. VIEW THE VIDEO on the FREEDOM FRONT PLUS FACEBOOK
PAGE http://www.facebook.com/video/video.php?v=477503396215&oid=187645864452
PULLED OVER IN ROADBLOCK UNDER FALSE PRETENCE:
Ms
Lourens said the Van Wyk couple were first pulled over in a police roadblock
because their numberplate was not attached to the front; however it had fallen
off en route and Mr Van Wyk had put it in clear view
in the front window and told the officials at the first roadblock that he would
have it re-attached upon their return home. In that first roadblock the police
official also assured the family that it would not be a problem as long as the
number plate was clearly visible – which is was... (picture below)
“However when the Van Wyk family car was stopped at a second
roadblock, a black police officer started cursing Mr Van Wyk for a ‘white
bastard’ and cursed the entire Afrikaner family with foul and very crude
language while writing a ticket. Mrs Van Wyk, angered by these crude insults,
tore up the ticket and they drove on. A few kilometres further down the road,
the Van Wyk vehicle was suddenly surrounded by a large number of police
vehicles and forced off the road. Mr Van Wyk was physically dragged from the
car after he told the police he did not want to abandon his family in such an
unsafe place and would rather follow them to the police station. Mr Van Wyk was
then assaulted, and forced at gunpoint by a police officer to lie down,” wrote
Ms Lourens.
“You have killed my
daddy…’ shouted the weeping child
Ms
Lourens continued: ‘One of the small Van Wyk children then jumped from the car,
thinking that they had killed her father, and beat at one of the officers with
a small plastic toy golfing stick, shouting that they ‘had shot her daddy’. Mrs
Van Wyk was in hysterics (hysterical) and tried to get out of her seatbelt
while the officers were assaulting her, trying to drag her out of the car. Mr
Van Wyk then jumped to his wife’s defence, shouting for them to leave his wife
alone. Family friend Lee Mark was meanwhile sitting inside the car, holding the
little Van Wyk boy close to his chest to protect him. Another police officer
then stuck a gun inside the car, and held it to Lee’s head, ordering Lee to
‘shut the children up’. An eye-witness at the scene who was taking photos and
videos with her cellphone also was threatened that they would confiscate her
phone: and they broke her keys when trying to rip them out of the ignition
while Mr van Wyk was still being beaten repeatedly in the face before he and
his wife were handcuffed and taken to the Brits police cells. He was there
forced to undergo blood-tests which will only be available in July, the police
claimed at the charge-office. Mr Lee then took back the family car to Brits
with the three Van Wyk children, taking them to a family-member for
safekeeping,” wrote Mrs Lourens.
She
spent hours on Christmas Day, trying to get the Van Wyk couple released from
the Brits police cells. Initially the SAPS even denied that the Van Wyk’s
were arrested and inside. It took her three hours before she could reach
officials at the cells by phone.
Police officers told 14
black detainees in the Brits holding cell: ‘we have
brought you a Paulina to rape…’
Lourens
wrote: “While driving the cells, one official had pushed
Van Wyk’s head outside the window while other officers were constantly beating
him against the ear and his head while cursing him constantly. He then was
taken to Cell 11 of the Brits police station where the black officers told the
15 black detainees inside that they had brought them a ‘Paulina’ for the
weekend and that Van Wyk would be raped until he had ‘learned some manners’ . Van Wyk said
he then was subjected to a constant stream of threats of rape and also called “Paulina’ by the detainees who
demanded that he send out for cigarettes for them or he would be gang-raped.
Meanwhile Mrs Van Wyk was also accosted in the female-section cells because the
black women detained there tried to rob her jewellery. She hid her earrings
underneath her tongue.
The
Freedom
Front councillor said that she
tried to reach the police station at Brits from 8pm to 11pm by telephone that
night and finally obtained some confirmation from officials at the cells after
the complaints-officials had repeatedly denied that the Van Wyk couple were
inside the police station and had denied all knowledge of the incident.
However, the official at the holding cells told Ms Lourens at 11pm that the
‘Van Wyks had already been released and were in the complaints office’.
The Van Wyk couple denied this, saying they were held until well after 11pm and
that throughout their arrest and incarceration, they were not informed under
what charges they were being held. The Brits police also vehemently denied they
had carried out acts of brutality and had shouted racist abuse at the couple.
Early the next day, the councillor went to the Brits magistrate’s court where Mrs
Van Wyk had been ordered to appear purportedly to face charges of ‘interfering
in an arrest’ and ‘malicious damage to property". While she waited in
court, Mrs Lourens obtained the video material and photographs from an
eye-witnesses there -- and went to the Brits police station commander with it.
“A
person in civilian clothing at the Brits police station then tried to convince
me that the Van Wyks were ‘distorting the case’ and that there had been
‘no police brutality,’ she said. “However, when I informed him of the
visual evidence he fell silent,’ she said. “I informed him that it even looked
from the videos as of an article was taken from the vehicle and placed inside
the pocket of an official. I also told him that when Mrs Van Wyk was plucked
from the car, her cellphone had fallen out of her pocket, and that an official,
dressed in black civilian clothing, then put it in his own pocket. Mrs Van Wyk
then demanded her cellphone back and fought with this man who then returned
it”. The official then left. Within ten minutes the Van Wyk couple phoned Ms
Lourens – informing her that the case against them was dropped. The Freedom
Front Plus councillor said however
they are not letting this incident rest - they have in turn already initiated
proceedings against the traffic officials and the police officers. “What is so
worrying is that whenever there is a real emergency, the police claims that
they have no vehicles available or officers to respond to the scene. However it
was clear that there was no shortage of officials nor vehicles. And the racist
comments coupled with the brutal behaviour of the police is not in line with
the official “Batho-pele’ policies of the SAPS, which claims that they ‘put
people first’. Clearly these Batho Pele principles posted above the door
of this police station, hold no meaning for those officials’. She called
on the community to inform them of any police violence and racist actions by
officials.
PHOTOGRAPHS AND VIDEOS:
Know your rights:
