Impound assault-linked metro cops arrested
The 11 police officers understood to be behind the assault of Bheki Sheba and two of his colleagues at a vehicle pound were also expected to appear in court on Monday.
The Tshwane metro police department (TMPD) officers linked to the alleged assault of Pretoria resident Bheki Sheba at their vehicle pound were arrested last week and were due to appear in court on Monday.
“The 11 Tshwane metro police officers who were arrested on Friday, October 15, will be appearing on a charge of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm after a failed attempt to secure police bail on Saturday afternoon,” police watchdog the Independent Police Investigative Directorate’s (Ipid) spokesperson Grace Langa said.
Sheba, and two of his colleagues, were allegedly assaulted by the TMPD officers at their pound when he wanted to pay and retrieve his impounded vehicle.
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According to Sheba, he and his colleagues were standing outside the pound when the officers arrived and allegedly began to assault them with sjamboks.
Last week Langa said they would have to “hunt” for the officers “even though they know themselves”, and he hoped they would have presented themselves to Ipid to tell their side of the story as they ought to “understand the law very well”.
At the time, she also said they were still working towards identifying the officers who were involved in the alleged assault.
TMPD spokesperson Senior Superintendent Isaac Mahamba on Monday, said their internal disciplinary processes were still ongoing.
“We will announce the next step in due course,” he said.
Mahamba previously, during a TV interview, said they experienced a delay in obtaining statements from the said officers as they were already on their “rest days” when the incident was brought to their attention.
According to him, they could not go to the homes of the officers out of respect for their privacy and their internal laws which reportedly dictated that they could obtain their statements while they were at work..
He further said it was after obtaining the statements that they would be able to determine a way forward.
During the interview, Mahamba also said that none of their officers were at any point supplied with sjamboks, adding that this would form part of their investigation.
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