Racist cops arrest dads for dog on
leash in pet-friendly park
Dads Dawie du Plessis and Chris de Lange were arrested
and verbally and physically abused by metro cops during his children’s party in
Zita Park, Pretoria – claiming they were ‘drunk and disorderly’, after accusing
them of having a dog illegally in the park.
However the
dog was on a leash, as was required, in a pet-friendly park as indicated by
signage. When the dads insisted on taking a blood-test at the police station to
prove that they were not drunk, their requests were denied.
The website Farmitracke reports Du Plissis’ little girl was
badly traumatised by the experience after witnessing her dad being arrested and
verbally abused. “The metro cops couldn’t care less about the fact that the
child was left behind alone. People who knew the family took the child home but
the metro cops didn’t take any trouble to find out whether Du Plessis’ child
was safe.”
Du Plessis was at his ten-year-old
daughter’s birthdayparty at the Zita Park ‘a pet friendly park’ according to
the city council, when a local security guard, a female, told him he was not
allowed to have a puppy in the park – even though the signs clearly said that
he could.
The two men were dragged in handcuffs
into a police van at around 15h30 in front of their children and kept
imprisoned at the garsfontein police station until 11h30 pm. Du Plessis’
suffered torn ligaments in one arm because of the rough handling by the cops.
The local magistrate’s court dismissed
the case and the men were not charged. A day after the incident paper strips
were pasted across the city signpost at the park to cover up the words saying
that dogs were allowed in the park as long as they were on a leash.
The video of the incident contains
strong language – by the police. Any idiot can see they were inspired by racist
motives.
