Cecil Hunter 31, kicked, beaten,
abused robbed by police
20071107 BENONI.
Local
motorist Cecil Hunter, 31, says he was handcuffed, repeatedly sprayed with
pepper spray, kicked, beaten, jailed over the weekend and robbed by two Benoni
police officers -- for allegedly going the wrong way down a one-way street -
which he denied he did. When jailed in the Benoni police station holding cells
he was beaten some more, robbed and deeply humiliated. He denied that he broke
any traffic laws but said while he was beaten and taunted in jail, he did curse
his police jailers - it was the only defence he had left he said. " It was
if they wanted to show they were in charge. "They taunted: 'now you are
brave, shitting in your pants...' Hunter said: "I'm half ashamed about it,
but they beat me until my bladder and everything was empty. Then they said to
me: 'Now you're brave, shitting in your pants'." Hunter was pulled off the
road in the early hours of Friday by police from Benoni, for allegedly driving
his car against the traffic. He stopped and one of the police officers
apparently asked him what he was going to do "about the situation".
Hunter denied doing anything wrong and asked the police, a man and a woman, for
identification. He claims that they refused to show him any. "The man
grabbed me and the woman sprayed me four or five times with pepper spray.
"I couldn't see and they cuffed my hands behind my back. I felt them
taking my wallet out of my pocket and started screaming. I did resist the
arrest, yes, I thought I was being robbed instead," he said. While he was
in the back of the police van, Hunter wriggled his hands through under his feet
and managed to phone his girlfriend. He then was assaulted, humiliated and
robbed of his cash at Benoni police station. His wrists were still raw where the
handcuffs had cut into him when he was interviewed. The swelling around his eye
had subsided, but it was still bloodshot and he had bruises everywhere. He had
asked for medical treatment in the cells and it had been refused. "I think
they'd hoped that I would bribe them, but then I made a fuss. They took every
note and coin out of my wallet and just left me my cards. "I was very,
very angry and humiliated. They robbed me and made me feel inferior. It was if
they wanted to show they were in charge. "I'm not going to lie: I shouted
and swore at them (after the arrest), but that was all I had left." Hunter
appeared without being charged for anything in the Benoni court on Friday,
released on his own cognisance and the case was postponed. The court records claimed
he was arrested for 'resisting arrest' - not a word about the alleged traffic
