Charges dropped against man who tries to protect wife

The man, who was arrested after he tried to protect his wife from an alleged police assault, now has reason to smile again.

The charges of alleged crime injuries and resisting arrest that were laid against him were dropped on Wednesday, October 27 when the prosecution authority refused to prosecute. The reasons for their decision are not known.
Mr Istvan Bartfai landed up in jail after he tried to protect his wife, Landi on Thursday, April 14.

Videos show a policeman hitting Landi after an argument about their driving. Bartfai then steps in and tries to pull the policeman off his wife. That was when the tables turned and he landed behind bars.
The Bartfai couple was on their way to pick up their daughter from a local high school after she had hospitality studies that evening, when the drama unfolded.

Landi said that her eye caught lights speeding towards them and she instinctively knew the vehicle is not going to stop.

“I stopped again, flashed my headlights and waited a few moments for the vehicle to go by. It stopped in the middle of the intersection. I drove on, passing the vehicle at the front,” Landi said.

Landi said the nightmare then started,

“As we pulled away Istvan threw his hands up in the air in dismay for the driver for attempting to drive over the stop street without stopping. There were no markings on the bakkie and no blue lights; we had no way of knowing it was a police van.”

Right in front of the school the white bakkie stopped the Bartfai’s car and according to a witness jerked the passenger door open.

“Istvan got out and an argument between him and the two policemen started. He just wanted to know why they were speeding,” Landi said.

Learners from the high school, who saw the commotion made the videos that was used in the court proceedings.

“I am so grateful the nightmare is over. The strain we had to endure the past few months is indescribable” Landi said.

Capt Eddie Hall confirmed that the charges against Bartfai were dropped.

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