Centurion man ‘bullied, intimidated by police’
He said the officers informed him that he was arrested, while they continued to scream at him and threaten him with a firearm.
A son of a well-known Centurion fashion designer has reported two police officers he claims bullied and intimidated him while he was on his way to buy essential goods.
The son, who wished to remain anonymous, however, said he was very happy with the way the police station treated the case afterwards when he shared his story with Rekord.
“I was on my way to buy essential goods for my parents at the Lifestyle shopping centre in Centurion on Wednesday,” the 22-year-old said.
“I saw that it was busy at the centre, so I passed it and headed in the direction of Eco Boulevard shopping centre.”
He said he noticed a police vehicle in the lane next to him.
“They made a U-turn at the traffic light and drove behind me and switched their lights on,” he said.
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“I did not think it was for me because I was alone in the vehicle and under the impression that you could go out to buy essential goods if you had a mask on, hand sanitiser and kept a social distance.”
After about two minutes, the police officers pulled him over.
“Two officers got out of the van and immediately started screaming at me that I do not belong on the road,” he said.
“They forced me out of my vehicle and took my driver’s licence, wallet and car keys.”
He said the officers informed him that he was arrested, while they continued to scream at him and threaten him with a firearm.
“Every time I tried to answer a question, they accused me of back-chatting and intimidation,” he said.
“After telling the officers that I am cooperating with them, they said I would be charged with two cases, which included the contravention of the disaster management act and impersonating a police officer.”
According to the 22-year-old, the officers asked him how much money he had.
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“They said I would have to pay R3 000 for bail or get a sentence of six months in prison,” he said.
“I said that I was an honest person and asked them to take me to the police station. They told me that they will not do that and informed me that I would be arrested and immediately taken to prison.”
In an attempt to get help, the man had asked paramedics driving by for assistance but “they just drove away”.
“One of the officers grabbed me and tied my hands behind my back,” he said.
“They threw me inside the police van and one officer got inside my vehicle. My rights were not read and I pleaded with them because I did not understand what was going on.”
He said they drove him to the Eco Boulevard shopping centre and then to a field.
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“One officer got out and asked me how we were going to resolve this,” he said.
“I told them to take me to the police station because I am going to write this all down on an affidavit.”
He said the officer was aggravated by his response.
“He got back into his van and hit the brakes hard that I fell over,” he said.
“The officer got out again and told me that I now had a third violation – damaging state property because I fell over.
“He told me the three violations would add up to a bail amount of over R20 000.”
He said the officer threatened him more then got back to his vehicle and drove towards Irene.
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“He eventually pulled over in an empty field, opened up the doors, pulled me out and uncuffed me,” he said.
“The officer stood in front of me with my wallet, keys and driver’s licence and asked me how much I would give them so that I could go home. He let me get back in my vehicle.
“I didn’t answer them and they said it didn’t work like that before taking R200 each.”
He said upon leaving, he attempted to go around the vehicle so that he could get the police vehicle’s registration number.
“They blocked my view and forced me to go the other way. Throughout the whole ordeal, they also kept their name tags closed with their hands.”
He said the officers drove behind him for a while before going their separate way.
He said he suffered slight injuries on his wrist.
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He said he has reported the matter.
“I’m very impressed by how the police station handled the matter,” he said.
“They came directly to my house on Thursday and assured me that the case would be investigated. They also offered me counselling.”
Provincial police spokesperson, Brigadier Vishnu Naidoo said that should someone feel that they have been intimidated or bullied by the police, they should report the matter to the relevant police station commander immediately.
He could, however, not provide feedback on this specific case.
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