Harassed, threatened by police

Mr Marco Buffa, an Observatory resident, said he and his employees were harassed and their lives were threatened by police officers on Monday last week.

Mr Buffa and his staff were driving to his house in a convoy of three vehicles. He left the convoy in Marcia Street to go to a filling station.

Mr Buffa arrived home before his employees and became concerned. He phoned one of the drivers and he was informed that two of his employees had been arrested. His employees were stopped by two police officers in an unmarked police vehicle. Mr Buffa said the police officers, driving a Ford ST, assumed he was Chinese. They drove to his house with his employees “in the hopes of getting a bribe”.

The police officers did not clarify why his employees were arrested.

After harassment and threats made against Mr Buffa and his staff, the police officers drove off with one of his employees towards Yeoville.

Mr Buffa followed the vehicle and contacted 10111.

He was told to open a case at Yeoville SAPS. He said he also contacted other organisations but did not get help.

The police officers eventually stopped in Yeoville. A VW Caravelle stopped behind Mr Buffa but the occupants never got out.

The occupants of the Ford wanted to arrest Mr Buffa and his other employees.

After he refused to pay a bribe, the officers left with one of Mr Buffa’s staff members. They later dropped him off in Yeoville.

Mr Buffa picked him up and went to Yeoville SAPS. He left without opening a case because the VW Caravelle was there.

Mr Buffa said four people in another vehicle also waited outside his house the next morning. They followed him and sped off when he picked up his staff. Mr Buffa has opened a case at the Cleveland SAPS.

“I am still terrified of the repercussions of reporting against the police. I fear that we may be subjected to police retaliation. I am, however, a bit calm now that I have has received assurance from higher up that this will be dealt with,” he said.

Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini, SAPS Gauteng provincial spokesperson, said a criminal case and internal investigation is underway. “Two vehicles involved have been identified as belonging to the members of the Tactical Response Team. The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) has also been informed about the allegations against the members,” he said.

Mr Buffa said the community must stand together and fight against this type of behaviour by police officers.

“An impartial call centre has to be implemented so people can get help immediately. I made so many calls that night and no-one was able to help. Who do we call when something like this happens? At the time I was frustrated and felt hopeless. I am determined to see that action is taken against the police officers. I am also determined to improve the neighbourhood. We do not know our neighbours and it is time to get out, patrol and see what is happening in the area,” said Mr Buffa.

Harassment experienced by people in Observatory and Cyrildene is not new to the area.

Mr Rob Crawford, chairperson of the Sector 1 Crime Forum, said that 18 months ago the stopping of motorists, especially Chinese people, was rife in these suburbs.

“People were being stopped by flying squad members and other officers for bribes. It has been quiet for a while and I hope that this is not the start of problems again. This problem has to be addressed now before it gets out of hand again. It is fine to conduct stop-and-search operations but if a person is arrested they must be taken to the police station,” he said.

Colonel Bongani Dlamini, Cleveland SAPS station commander, confirmed that there had been a decrease in these types of incidents. “We are investigating the latest incident,” he said.