2013-01-25 09:27
Bruce Swart and his fiancée Natashia van Zyl. (Lucky Maibi, Beeld)
Johannesburg - A
Germiston man has laid charges with police after he was allegedly assaulted by
two police officers in front of his hysterical toddlers.
Bruce Swart told Beeld how he had been driving back from dinner with friends with his fiancée Natashia van Zyl and their sons Jayden, 4, and Justin, 2, when he was pulled over by two members of the dog unit.
“They pulled me from my vehicle and threw me against the pavement. One of the men’s hands was around my neck. It felt like I was being strangled,” said Swart.
He said: “Both the men were very aggressive and arrogant. They asked to see my driver’s licence…I shook a lot and asked if I could just drive back to my friends’ house to look for my wallet.”
The officers agreed but at the gate of the security complex the men got out of the car and started assaulting him.
His oldest son, Jayden, started screaming hysterically.
“I tried to calm him down but he was just really scared. It probably looked to him like they were killing his dad,” said Swart’s fiancée.
She said both of their sons were traumatised by the incident.
Swart was arrested on charges of reckless driving and possession of a stolen vehicle, even when Swart tried to convince them that his car’s registration documents were in the cubby hole.
Swart said R400 was taken from his wallet.
CCTV footage from the security complex showed how the police officers searched the car and looked at Swart’s driver’s licence as well as car registration papers.
All charges against Swart were dropped the following day.
A police spokesperson said the incident was being investigated.
Bruce Swart told Beeld how he had been driving back from dinner with friends with his fiancée Natashia van Zyl and their sons Jayden, 4, and Justin, 2, when he was pulled over by two members of the dog unit.
“They pulled me from my vehicle and threw me against the pavement. One of the men’s hands was around my neck. It felt like I was being strangled,” said Swart.
He said: “Both the men were very aggressive and arrogant. They asked to see my driver’s licence…I shook a lot and asked if I could just drive back to my friends’ house to look for my wallet.”
The officers agreed but at the gate of the security complex the men got out of the car and started assaulting him.
His oldest son, Jayden, started screaming hysterically.
“I tried to calm him down but he was just really scared. It probably looked to him like they were killing his dad,” said Swart’s fiancée.
She said both of their sons were traumatised by the incident.
Swart was arrested on charges of reckless driving and possession of a stolen vehicle, even when Swart tried to convince them that his car’s registration documents were in the cubby hole.
Swart said R400 was taken from his wallet.
CCTV footage from the security complex showed how the police officers searched the car and looked at Swart’s driver’s licence as well as car registration papers.
All charges against Swart were dropped the following day.
A police spokesperson said the incident was being investigated.
