The Crimes of the South African Police Service

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Thursday, January 30, 2014

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Relela SAPS station under siege from 2,000-strong mob of petrolbombers: 2 shot dead by cops, 15 cops injured, police-cars torched - anger over woman's muti-death

22:33 Jan 29 2014 Relela, South Africa

Description

Relela village, Tzaneen, Limpopo: Two protestors shot dead, 15 policemen injured, Relela satellite police station surrounded by 2,000-strong mob of petrol-bombers, stone-throwers:
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TZANEEN, Limpopo - Police watchdog, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID), is investigating the deaths of two protesters in a village outside Tzaneen in Limpopo.
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They also are already investigating the shooting-deaths at the hands of the SAPS in six other cases in South Africa since January 2014. DETAILS LAST PARAGRAPHS OF STORY BELOW:
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Police have confirmed that (besieged) officers shot and killed two people in Relela last night. It’s believed they opened fire when they came under attack from around 2,000 community members stormed a police station, throwing petrol bombs and stones.
Fifteen officers were injured.The violence started last week after a woman was found murdered. Police arrested two suspects in connection with her death, but they were later released.
This sparked a protest on Saturday in which a 15-year old boy was shot dead, allegedly by police. Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega visited the area today to try and calm matters down.
Saturday's shooting comes after the body of a woman was found about 8km away in Mandlakazi, Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi said.
It was reported earlier by eNCAcom that 'the woman was found on Friday with her hands cut off, and her cellphone and keys placed inside her open stomach.
Mulaudzi said two men were taken in for questioning on Saturday. It is alleged that during that moment, one of our members [officers] shot at the protesting villagers, which led to the death of a 15-year-old boy.
"While we were busy with the questioning, the community mobilised and went and started to burn the houses of those two men, including one house that belonged to the boyfriend of the deceased woman," he said.
"During that time, police went in to try and stop them from burning those houses.
"It is alleged that during that moment, one of our members [officers] shot at the protesting villagers, which led to the death of a 15-year-old boy."
Mulaudzi said police also received information that villagers were planning to mobilise and burn down a police satellite station on Sunday because of the shooting.
"But that did not happen because police intervened." Provincial police had since instructed that all police officers who were at the shooting scene on Saturday hand in their firearms.
Ballistic tests would be carried out to determine who shot the boy. "We are still waiting for the results from the ballistic test. No officer has been suspended or arrested yet," he said.
No villagers had been arrested for the mob justice, but a case of arson had been opened.Mulaudzi said the two men who were questioned were later released as they could not be linked to the murder of the woman.
Police were presently searching for the woman's boyfriend for questioning. "We don't know where he is at this point".
The Independent Police Investigative Directorate was investigating the matter.

SAPS SHOOTS DEAD AT LEAST SEVEN PEOPLE SINCE JANUARY 2014:

Since January, at least five others have been killed by police officers in South Africa - FOUR shot dead during 'Drinking Water Protests'. ONE man in housing protest...

--- On January 13, Osiah Rahube and photographer Michael Tshele were killed in clashes with police in Brits during a protest for DRINKING water.
-- A third man, Lerato Seema, died the following day from injuries sustained when jumping off a moving Nyala, according to police.
-- Police said a fourth person died on January 19 of injuries sustained in the clashes. Residents claim the 36-year-old man was shot in the head.
-- On January 23, a 28-year-old man, Tshepo Babuseng, was shot dead by a police officer during a protest in Durban Deep, Roodepoort, over housing.

http://www.enca.com/south-africa/cops-shoot-limpopo-teen
http://www.enca.com/south-africa/ipid-probe-police-shootings-protesters-deaths

News Source Link

http://www.enca.com/south-africa/cops-shoot-limpopo-teen
http://www.enca.com/south-africa/ipid-probe-police-shootings-protesters-deaths

Crimes of the South African Police Service

ANC-police intervenes with paramedics who try to save accident-victims whenever a policeman is involved: charge laid by paramedic Henrico Duarte, Bloemfontein

12:36 Jan 9 2014 Bloemfontein, South Africa

Description

While qualified paramedics struggled to save three lives at an accident scene, a SA police officer threatens to arrest them for 'intervening in a crime scene.' Journalist Pieter Steyn quotes ER24 paramedic Henrico Duarte, who tells him that cops from the Bloemspruit SAPS in Bloemfontein threatened him and other emergency personnel while they tried to save lives. One of the victims of the crash is a police officer from De Wets dorp. The odd incident happened on New Year's Eve day at around 09h00 about 40km from Bloemfontein on the road to De Wetsdorp, he said. "I was stabilising one of the traffic accident victims, the other paramedics were cutting a wreck open to free another victim, when this cop showed off, chased us off and threatened us. The cop said that since 'one of the accident victims is a cop, it is a 'protected crime scene and we are messing up his crime crime by trying to save them'. Duarte said the victims around this wreck were critically injured. He told the policeman that he was trying to save their lives, that he was stabilising them and that he could not leave the scene. "The cop was very aggressive and kept threatening to arrest us,' he said. The victims in the wreck were police officer Salmon Molemi, 25 and his girl-friend Kamohelo Chabeli, 16, who were travelling between De Wetsdorp and Bloemfontein in his private vehicle. He had just gotten off working night shift. Molema's vehicle crashed head-on against the vehicle of a fifty-one year old couple, Roelof and Karin Engelbrecht of Langenhovenpark. While the teen girl was 'slightly injured', police officer Molema and the Engelbrecht couple are in critical condition and now in the intensive care units of several Bloemfontein hospitals, wrote Steyn. Life Rosepark Hospital spokeswoman Esmarie Cronjé said the Engelbrecht couple's condition is 'serious' but now stabilised: both sustained 'very bad leg injuries'. And Mediclinic Bloemfontein spokeswoman Reinette Oosthuizen said the police officer, Molema, is now 'stable'. , SAPS chief of the Free State publicity-department, brig. Billy Jones, did not react to a request to comment by the newspaper journalist. However, paramedic Duarte's version of events was confirmed by other emergency-service workers. One - who is terrified of victimization and did not want to be identified - said 'this happens often at accident scenes where police-officers are involved. They want to protect each other and we believe that they want to remove evidence which could be used against their colleagues. Vehicles where police officers were involved in traffic accidents also cannot just be towed away by private towing services. The police always insist on towing away such vehicles themselves'. Duarte said the aggressive behaviour by the police officer in the Engelbrecht/Molema traffic accident, and the threats against him, have definitely interveneed in his ability to assist the survivors of that crash. "Throughout that time when that cop was threatening and harassing me, I could not give my full attention to my patients. Fortunately we were able to stabilise them all. People's lives always come first,' he said.
The accident itself was confirmed by constable Maselela Langa of the Bloemfontein SAPS - who said a formal complaint of attempted culplible homicide is being investigated. (volksblad.com)

News Source Link

http://www.volksblad.com/nuus/2014-01-08-paramedici-glo-gedreig

Crimes of the South African Police Service

AgriSA farm rights group warns that SA Police are arresting white farmers illegally without warrants or due cause

16:26 Nov 25 2013 Johannesburg, South Africa

Description

RT @landbou: @Agrisa warns that SA Police are again arresting farmers illegally without warrants or due legal cause
http://bit.ly/1dvERr7

Boere weer onwettig in hegtenis geneem
Deur Alani Janeka, 25 November 2013 http://www.landbou.co.za/nuus/boere-weer-onwettig-in-hegtenis-geneem
"Dit lyk asof wederregtelike inhegtenisnemings van boere weer kop uitsteek, waarsku Agri SA.
“Of dit uit onkunde of moedswillig is, kan ons nie nou bepaal nie, maar dit is duidelik dat onwettige inhegtenisnemings van boere weer kop uitsteek.”
Dit is een van die aspekte wat Agri SA se veiligheidskomitee onlangs tydens ’n vergadering bespreek het, sê mnr. Kobus Breytenbach, voorsitter.
’n Paar jaar gelede het die voorvalle ook gereeld voorgekom. Breytenbach sê die voorvalle word in talle provinsies aangemeld, hoewel dit nou veral in Noordwes voorkom.
“'n Opname van die voorvalle word gedoen om die omvang en voorkoms daarvan te bepaal, sodat verdere optrede met die polisie bespreek kan word,” sê Agri SA in ’n verklaring.
Breytenbach versoek mense wat só in hegtenis geneem word, om hulself nie te verset nie, want dan kan die beampte ’n saak van verset teen inhegtisneming aanhangig maak wat wel wetlik vervolg kan word.

Onaanvaarbare aspek
Die komitee meen dat landelike misdaad een van die onaanvaarbare aspekte is waarmee landbouers op 'n daaglikse basis gekonfronteer word.
“Nie net moet hulle daarmee saamleef nie, maar die hoë vlakke daarvan lei tot onaanvaarbare koste en verliese vir landbouers.”
Die toepassing van die Landelike Beveiligingstrategie word ook fyn dopgehou, hoewel die toeganglikheid van polisiëring vir landelike gemeenskappe ’n kwessie bly.
’n Ooreenkoms bestaan wel tussen Agri SA en CrisisOnCall oor die verskafifng van ’n verskeidenheid dienste in krisis- en noodsituasie, en boere word aangemoedig om daarvan gebruik te maak. Besoek www.crisisoncall.co.za vir meer inligting.
Met volgende jaar se verkiesing in gedagte het die komitee reeds die Onafhanklike Verkiesingskommissie (OVK) in kennis gestel dat hy bereid is om met die OVK saam te werk.
Die OVK het vroeër die protokol onderteken waarvolgens reëls vir besoeke uiteengesit word, én waarin bepaal word dat politieke byeenkomste weg van die plaas by openbare plekke aangebied moet word.
http://www.landbou.co.za/nuus/boere-weer-onwettig-in-hegtenis-geneem

News Source Link

http://www.landbou.co.za/nuus/boere-weer-onwettig-in-hegtenis-geneem

Crimes of the South African Police Service

6 murders: black people necklaced: Khutsong, Carletonville residents rioted to protest against poor police response to gangs terrorising towns:

18:40 Nov 15 2013 Khutsong, Carletonville, South Africa

Description

Khutsong Carletonville residents are sick and tired of being terrorised by gangs: so they protested and the riots went out of control - suddenly there were more than enough police to fight residents: six were killed in riots:
Adele Louw writes in the Carletonville Herald: 2013-11-12 This past weekend, Khutsong residents rioted and went out of control because the SAPS is not paying attention to any gang-related crimes.
This past weekend six people were murdered, but nobody was arrested.
There was a long runup to the explosion of violence this weekend, she writes:
the public kept complaining about the gang-crime, and complaints that the police were not helping them fight the gangs fell on deaf ears.
The SAPS said in turn they were not given enough resources to fight crime: personnel, crime-fighting material and rolling stock were inefficient to fight the gangs.
Meanwhile the public have to live in the grip of violent crimes controlling their suburbs.
Louw writes: while it's ironic that the SAPS in the area could not summon extra police-help when they had to act against the gangs, help suddenly arrived from all directions
when the residents rioted this past weekend. Couldn't decision-makers within the police have provided that same kind of help and prevent these problems in the first place if they had provided sufficient help to fight the gangs?
Meanwhile, residents are increasingly irate and feel that the only way they can get attention for the gang-problem is to take such drastic actions.
And they seem to have a point if one saw the overwhelming police response when the citizens started rioting.
Meanwhile other area residents are equally angry about the murders committed lately. Will all these crimes get sufficient police-attention before
the entire community decides to take the law into their own hands?
http://www.carletonvilleherald.com/101368/news-details/mense-moeg-vir-misdaad

News Source Link

http://www.carletonvilleherald.com/101368/news-details/mense-moeg-vir-misdaad

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Pretoria great-grandmother, 92, survives horrific eight-hour rape ordeal by two black males at Groenkloof home: Police ignored her emergency call

11:14 Oct 22 2013 Groenkloof, Pretoria 0181, South Africa

92-year-old Pretoria woman survives 8-hour rape ordeal by one of two black male attackers - NO RESPONSE FROM POLICE TO HER EMERGENCY CALL... NOBODY SHOWED UP...
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"Pretoria gran in rape, robbery ordeal" October 22 2013 at 07:52am By Valeska Abreu - IOL Pretoria - Desperate to call for help after being raped by one of two intruders, a 92-year-old Pretoria woman crawled down a passage, through the lounge, and down stairs to reach a telephone on the porch of her home. After spending eight harrowing hours with her attackers, who ransacked her Groenkloof home and ate and drank from her fridge, the great-grandmother searched a phone book for the Sunnyside police station number, reported her ordeal and waited for help that never came. Drifting in and out of consciousness, she realised at 3.30pm last Friday – four-and-a-half hours after calling the police station for help and with no one showing up – that she had to make another call. She managed to call her gardener, who was at a nearby shopping centre. He hurried to the house and found the frail woman battered and bruised. The gardener phoned the woman’s son. “The gardener immediately informed me of what had happened. I called my siblings, police and an ambulance,” the son said. “On my way to the house I kept thinking about who would do something as horrible as this to such an old woman. “Only a savage would do something like this.” The two men had entered the three-bedroomed home, where the woman lived alone, at about 10.30 on Thursday night. “She is very cautious, so at night she locks all the doors to the relevant rooms, including the lounge and kitchen,” her son said. The woman, who uses a hearing aid, slept through the noise of the intruders breaking through a picture window and doors. They gained access to the passage and were confronted by her locked bedroom door. “They climbed into the ceiling through the trapdoor and then walked on the roof to her room, where they broke one of the panels to get inside her room,” her son said. Once inside the room, they awakened the woman and asked her for money. “She told them she didn’t have much money because her family did all her shopping for her, but told them to look in her bag and take what she had. “They ransacked the room and threw everything out of the closets. “One of the intruders didn’t talk to her, he was just looking for what he could take. “But the other showed a keen interest in her. While his accomplice was ransacking the rest of the house, he raped my mother. At some stage she was also hit over the head with a carpenter file.” According to the son, the men ate and drank from his mother’s fridge while they waited for daybreak. At 6.30am on Friday, the robbers left. At 11am the woman crawled to the phone to call for help. “At this time she can’t account for all the hours, but it appears she passed out a few times. “I have no idea why she didn’t call me when she first got to a phone. I’m just glad she eventually got hold of the gardener, who could then be with her and call for help.” The woman was taken on Friday afternoon to hospital, where she is still being treated. The man said his mother was in shock, but was resilient. “If you speak to her, you cannot believe that she has been through something like this. “She is joking about it, but doctors say that is her way of dealing with the ordeal. She is in shock and still has to fully comprehend what happened. “She told me that she is amused by what happened because she didn’t think anyone would want to rape an old woman like her, but inside I know she is hurting.” Arrangements are being made for the woman to move to a retirement village, but her son says she will not agree to this without a fight. “She is a very independent woman, and I know she will not agree willingly to go to a home, but at this stage she does not have a choice. “After this I cannot allow my mother to live in that house again. It’s just not safe.” The son added that he would be taking steps with the Sunnyside police station regarding his mother’s initial call at 11am. However, he commended the professionalism and helpfulness of the officers investigating the case. “They are really doing a sterling job and have shown a lot of determination to catch the perpetrators. We are really pleased with the way they are handling this. “I’m just concerned about why they never responded to my mother’s initial call at 11am.” Police said they were investigating the break-in and rape, but no arrests had been made. They were also investigating the ignored call made by the woman to the police. “We will have to investigate the allegations of the first phone call with records, to see what happened,” spokeswoman Sergeant Asnath Malatsi said. Pretoria News

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/pretoria-gran-in-rape-robbery-ordeal-1.1595412

News Source Link

http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/pretoria-gran-in-rape-robbery-ordeal-1.1595412

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Black Cops Torture White Civilian

http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/lowveld/lowveld-news-crime?oid=7694425&sn=Detail&pid=490171&Minister-van-polisie-moet-opdok--beslis-hof

Crimes of the South African Police Service

Pretoria High Court orders Police Minister to pay 100% damages for racist abuse of White Bastard and violence against Nelspruit man Jan Coetzee in false-arrest case

12:27 Aug 14 2013 Nelspruit, South Africa

Description

Pretoria High Court orders Minister of Police to pay 100% damages for injuries and verbal insult 'White Bastard' to town-truck operator Jan Coetzee by Tactical Response Team on February 12 2011
Damage thus far runs into R800,000 estimates... The (black members) of the nelspruit SAPS' Tactical Response Team constantly beat and kicked Coetzee after arresting him when he was shot with rubber bullets, shouting at him that he was 'a White Bastard'. ...
12 Aug 2013 Nicolene Smalman of the Lowveld Look Local: NELSPRUIT writes: The Minister of Police has been ordered to pay 100% damages to towtruck operator Jan Coetzee, 39, for injuries and damage incurred on 12 February 2011 when Coetzee was attacked by members of the SAPS tactical response team and shot with rubber bullets on his plot in Nelspruit. The court order was issued on Wednesday August 14 2013. The judge ordered that the Police Minister had to be held 100% responsible for the claims submitted by Mr Coetzee. The case has been postponed to an indefinite date until the exact size of the amount can be established. The Tactical Response Team was constantly in the news during the 2011 because of their excessive and abusive 'policing' methods, writes Ms Smalman. "Lowvelder reported the incident when the TRT showed up at the property of Mr Coetzee's father-in-law, Mr Hennie van Zyl, and shot Mr Coetzee so often with rubber bullets that he had to spend four days in hospital to recover. He was working at the time as a tow-truck operator for Mat's Tow-In Services. A former colleague Gielie Loots had showed up at Van Zyl's smallholding called 'Gomgat' to park one of the vehicles from Mat's Tow-in service there - apparently this was done without Mr Van Zyl's permission and Coetzee contacted him and asked him to remove the vehicle. When Loots returned late that afternoon a verbal discussion arose between Mr Van Zyl and Mr Loots in which Mr Coetzee had not taken place. He was busy having a barbeque at the time.
The owner of Mat's Tow-In, Mr Roy Mdhluli, was informed of the verbal discussion between Mr Van Zyl and Mr Loots in which he was informed that Mr Van Zyl refused to have him remove his truck from his property. Mr Mdhluli then lodged 'theft' charges against Mr Van Zyl. Apparently this charge was based on a misunderstanding; Mr Van Zyl had made the comment in gest. The misunderstanding grew into a violent confrontation between the Afrikaners and the black men: Mr Mdhluli and SAPS warrant officer Sithole showed up at Gomgat, the police officer heard both sides of the argument and suggested they 'handled this problem in a civil court complaint' instead. Mdhluli himself also admitted to Lowvelder at the time, that he then contacted the deputy-provincial commissioner of police, maj.genl. Thembi Hadebe demanding that they 'take action' - and members of the infamous TRT team were dispatched to the smallholding. The tow-truck was meanwhile locked away in a garage to avoid theft, and a member of the TRT-team broke the lock. When Coetzee asked them for their arrest-warrant, they started shooting at him with rubber-bullets. Coetzee said they fired at him with their stoppers targetting the front of his body and despite his obvious pain, they kept firing bullets at him. "One of the TRT members fired at my leg from a short distance and the bullet struck the back of my left-knee,' Coetzee said in his statement to the Pretoria High Court. That wasn't the end of the ordeal: he then was dumped into a police van and driven to the Nelspruit police station, where he was assaulted some more. "I was dragged from the van and members of the TRT-team kicked me, beat me and were constantly shouting at me that I was 'a white bastard'.
He was taken to the Rob Ferreira Hospital where he required a blood transfusion because of all the blood loss and required surgery. No criminal charges have ever been placed against him for the false-arrest incident.
http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/lowveld/lowveld-news-crime?oid=7694425&sn=Detail&pid=490171&Minister-van-polisie-moet-opdok--beslis-hof

Damage thus far runs into R800,000 estimates...
Afrikaans article:
12 August 2013 Nicolene Smalman Lowveld Look Local: NELSPRUIT - Die minister van polisie sal moet opdok nadat ‘n man in 2011 deur lede van die plaaslike taktiese reaksie-eenheid met rubberkoeëls geskiet is.
Dié bevel is Woensdag in die hooggeregshof in Pretoria uitgereik. Die regter het gelas dat die minister 100% aanspreeklik is vir die skade wat die eiser, mnr. Jan Coetzee (39), kan bewys.
Hofverrigtinge om die omvang van sy skade te bepaal, is onbepaald uitgestel. Hy eis R878 000 - ‘n geraamde bedrag van die skade wat hy gely het.
Die berugte TRT (in Engels bekend as die Tactical Response Team) was in 2011 pal in die nuus oor hulle skynbare vergrype aan mag. Laevelder het toe nog berig hoe hulle op 12 Februarie daardie jaar op Coetzee se skoonpa, mnr. Hennie van Zyl, se eiendom toegeslaan en Coetzee só voos geskiet het, dat hy vier dae in die hospitaal moes deurbring.
Hy was ten tye van die voorval by Mat’s Tow-In as ‘n insleep-operateur werksaam.
‘n Voormalige kollega, mnr. Gielie Loots, het vroeg daardie oggend op Van Zyl se plot, Gomgat, aangekom en een van Mat’s Tow-In se voertuie daar geparkeer. Dit is gedoen sonder Van Zyl se toestemming en Coetzee het hom later geskakel en versoek om die voertuig te verwyder.
Loots het eers laatmiddag teruggekeer, maar Van Zyl het grappenderwys gesê dat hy nie die voertuig aan hom sou teruggee voordat hy nie ‘n fooi vir die stoor daarvan betaal het nie. ‘n Woordewisseling het tussen hulle ontstaan.
Volgens ‘n beëdigde verklaring deur Coetzee wat by die hof ingedien is, was hy nie deel van dié gesprek nie en was besig om vleis te braai. Loots het mnr. Roy Mdhluli, eienaar van Mat’s Tow-In, in kennis gestel en hulle het ‘n klag van diefstal by die polisiestasie gaan lê.
Mdhluli en ene AO Sithole het toe later by Gomgat opgedaag. Hy het na beide partye geluister en besluit dat dit ‘n siviele saak was wat hulle self moes oplos. Mdhluli het destyds self teenoor Laevelder erken dat hy hierna die adjunkprovinsiale kommissaris, maj.genl. Thembi Hadebe geskakel het, waarna lede van die eenheid na Van Zyl se plot is.
Die voertuig was in ‘n motorhuis toegesluit en ‘n lid van die TRT het die slot gebreek. Coetzee het gevra of hulle ‘n lasbrief gehad het, waarop hulle op hom begin skiet het.
“Die lede het my van voor af geskiet en toe ek omdraai as gevolg van die pyn op die voorkant van my lyf het hulle aangehou om my te skiet. Een van die TRT-lede het my op ‘n kort afstand in die agterkant van my linkerknie geskiet,” lees Coetzee se verklaring.
Hy is polisiestasie toe geneem waar hy verder aangerand is. “Ek is direk na die Nelspruit-polisiestasie geneem. Toe hulle my uit die vangwa uithaal, het die TRT-lede weer begin om my te slaan en te skop en die heeltyd vir my geskreeu dat ek ‘n white bastard is,” lees sy verklaring verder.
Hy is later na Rob Ferreira Hospitaal geneem waar hy geopereer is en selfs ‘n bloedoortapping moes kry. Hy is tot vandag toe nooit krimineel in verband met die voorval aangekla nie.
http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/lowveld/lowveld-news-crime?oid=7694425&sn=Detail&pid=490171&Minister-van-polisie-moet-opdok--beslis-hof

News Source Link

http://www.looklocal.co.za/looklocal/content/en/lowveld/lowveld-news-crime?oid=7694425&sn=Detail&pid=490171&Minister-van-polisie-moet-opdok--beslis-hof