‘Police beat me for cooldrink money ‘
December 12 2013 at 11:11am
By LERATO SIBANDA
By LERATO SIBANDA
Independent Newspapers
File image
Pretoria - A
20-year-old man from Mamelodi East was allegedly assaulted by two police
officers after refusing to give them “money for cooldrinks”.
Glen Radingwana said he was walking
back from a tavern on Sunday night where he’d been drinking and getting updates
on Nelson Mandela’s death when two officers in uniform stopped him.
Radingwana, who was holding an empty
beer bottle, was arrested for public drinking. The officers drove along a few
more streets arresting two more people also for public drinking.
But after driving about 1km the
officers stopped the van in Hector Pieterson Street and told the men they would
release them in exchange for cooldrink money. “We also need a favour,” the
officers apparently said.
“I told them that this was not right
and we started arguing,” Radingwana told Pretoria News.
Radingwana said he attempted to walk
away from the van but one of the officers broke off a plank from a beer crate
and began to hit him on the head. The other officer held on to his belt and
started pulling him by his private parts.
A bleeding Radingwana managed to escape
to his shack.
Radingwana had blood-shot eyes, swollen
lips and several bruises on his face when the Pretoria News interviewed him on
Monday. There were blood stains all over his khaki trousers.
“All I want now is for these officers
to be identified and to look them in the eyes,” Radingwana said.
When Radingwana went to Mamelodi East
police station to open a case he was allegedly told: “It is too early, come
around at 8am when officers are on duty.” When Radingwana returned later, a
male officer took him to an office where he allegedly tried to talk him out of
opening a case.
Joe Mphela, a ward 97 committee member
who handles safety issues, said the local police finally assisted Radingwana
with opening a case when he went with him to the station.
Ward 97 counsellor Nkele Malapane was
shocked to hear of the incident. He said it was disheartening that police
brutality still occurred in the townships, although such an incident had not
occurred for some time.
Communications officer for the Mamelodi
cluster, Warrant Officer Michael Mbewe, said yesterday that a case of assault
against the police officers was opened and the matter was being investigated by
the Independent Police Investigative Directorate.
On Wednesday, a frustrated Mphela said
the officers should be charged with assault with intent to do grievous bodily
harm instead of common assault.
lerato.sibanda@inl.co.za
Pretoria News
