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 2011Damage 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
Read more at http://www.censorbugbear.org/farmitracker/reports/view/1400#i5UixM1zlCtOX5w6.99
