In four days last week, two Edenvale business owners claimed they were victims of abusive behaviour by members of the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD).
One of the incidents was captured by Closed Circuit Television (CCTV) cameras.
On February 27, a 73-year-old woman was arrested along with her two grandchildren aged 17 and 22.
The elderly woman had allegedly skipped a red traffic light at the intersection of Second Street and Van Riebeeck Avenue.
When the 73-year-old driver of the car insisted she did not skip a red traffic light, officers verbally attacked her. When her two grandchildren attempted to help her, they were arrested for interfering with police duties.
Mrs Nada Niewoudt spoke to the NEWS last week on behalf of the family.
Mrs Niewoudt was in meeting in Roodepoort when the incident took place on February 27.
“I received a call from my 17-year-old son. He was hysterical, telling me his grandmother was going to be arrested. I told him to take the phone to one of the officers so that I could find out what was happening,” she said.
According to Mrs Niewoudt, as her son held the phone out to one of the officers, she could hear the female officer screaming at him.
“She told him to ‘voertsek’ and said if he brings the phone close to her she will smash it,” said Mrs Niewoudt.
When her 22-year-old niece left the family’s CBD shop to find out what was happening, she was told to stop interfering with police duties.
“My mother’s English is not very good, so my niece offered to help give her details to the officer, but the officer would have none of it. They told my niece they were not speaking to her, they were speaking to the old lady,” said Mrs Niewoudt.
Mrs Niewoudt’s niece, who asked not to be identified, recalled how the officer was shouting at her “the whole time”.
“When I told her to stop shouting at me, the officer said she was allowed to. That was when she came straight up to me and started shouting at me right in my face. She was so close she was spitting on me. She then started poking me hard in the chest and on my forehead. When I turned to go back to the shop, the officer kept poking me in the back and just as I reached the door, she gave me a hard push and said, ‘I am going to arrest you,’” the 22-year-old said.
“She then grabbed me by the clothes and dragged me to the police van. I kept saying I was sorry and told her I would get in the van but she did not listen. She grabbed my shirt and threw me in the van and said I had made a big mistake,” she added.
Another officer on the scene was told to fetch Mrs Niewoudt’s son and place him in the van too.
“My mom was worried about the safety of her two grandchildren and asked one of the officers to drive with her to the police station because she did not know where they were being taken,” said Mrs Niewoudt.
When the elderly woman arrived at the station she was also arrested.
The family claim the 17-year-old was placed into a police cell.
“Our requests for a trauma counsellor to speak to the children were refused,” said Mrs Niewoudt.
“The arresting officers kept telling the children that they are so young and they would have criminal records for the rest of their lives,” she added.
“My son was forced to sign his rights. As a minor, he is not allowed too,” said Mrs Niewoudt.
She added that police officers only started taking the family’s calls for a trauma counsellor seriously when paramedics informed them that the 22-year-old niece was bipolar and suffered severe emotional issues and anxiety.
The following day, all charges against the three were dropped when the case was thrown out of court.
Acting spokesperson for the Edenvale SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Roberts, said that when he arrived at the station the 17-year-old was not in a police holding cell.
“To my knowledge the child was never placed in a police cell,” said Lt Col Roberts.
He added that when a trauma counsellor arrived at the police station, his first priority was to have the elderly woman and sickly 22-year-old seen to.
“We were informed there was a history of illness. The elderly woman had a heart condition as well, therefore it was our first priority to have those two seen to,” said Lt Col Roberts.
In the second incident caught on CCTV cameras, on March 2, a 60-year-old shop owner was allegedly assaulted after he refused to remove crates from parking bays outside his shop.
In the video footage, a member of the Edenvale Community Police Forum (ECPF) and a manager from the Edenvale City Improvement District (ECID) can be seen watching as the scene unfolds.
According to Mr Nikitas Ioannu, the EMPD officer walked into his shop shortly after 11am and demanded he remove crates placed in parking bays outside his business.
“We reserve four or five parking pays for our customers,” he said.
Mr Ioannu said the officer became aggressive when he asked to see his appointment certificate.
On the footage it shows that after the officer produces his appointment certificate, the process of issuing the fine becomes heated. The EMPD officer rushes behind the counter where Mr Ioannu is standing and attempts to remove him and place him under arrest.
A scuffle appears to unfold and the officer is seen removing his jacket.
A member of the ECPF then begins to film the incident from the other side of the counter.
Reaction officers from two security companies arrived at the shop and one of them tries to calm the situation down.
When Mr Ioannu’s son arrives at the shop, he steps in and the officer leaves the back of the counter.
Mr Ioannu is then seen standing up, this time without his shirt.
“They (the officers) were out to nail me on anything. They were talking about fines for not having fire extinguishers and exit signs. I have fire extinguishers all over the shop,” he said.
After the incident, Mr Ioannu drove to the Edenvale Police Station where he was placed under arrest and charged with crimen injuria as well as resisting arrest.
He was later released on bail.
“I can understand officers using necessary force but I am a pensioner. He tried to drag me out from behind the counter,” said Mr Ioannu.
Mr Ioannu has subsequently laid charges against the officer involved.
Acting spokesperson for the Edenvale SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Roberts, confirmed that one case off assault had been registered against an EMPD officer.
At the time of going to print, the status of Mrs Niewoudt’s case against the EMPD officer involved in the matter could not be confirmed.
Spokesperson for the EMPD, Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, said parking bays in front of businesses form part of a public road.
“No business owner has the right to block them off, reserving them for his or her customers. It is not a private parking area belonging to the business. The owner cannot use the fact that other businesses are into that practice in the area and therefore he also has the right to do that,” said Supt Kgasago.
“The owner, in terms of the law, may not even park his or her vehicle in a public parking bay for the whole day based on the fact that the parking bay is opposite his establishment. That is why in some locations we have signs of limited parking specifying the maximum duration a vehicle may park there, for example a maximum of 60 minutes,” he added.
Mrs Linda McKenzie, the manager for the ECID and the chairperson for the ECPF, said numerous complaints were received regarding the parking bays and several other issues.
“On Sunday, March 2, after numerous complaints from members within the ECID boundaries, I was called to respond to Redline as there was again a problem with the parking bays. I called on the EMPD bylaw team to respond with me to the complaint,” said Mrs McKenzie.
According to her, when the team arrived at the store, the elderly shop owner “was uncooperative and aggressive. He refused to comply with any requests from EMPD officers”.
“In my opinion, no assault took place and there was no reason for anyone to step in as there was no situation to calm down,” said Mrs McKenzie.
She added that as the chairperson of the ECPF, her role is to bridge the gap between the community and SAPS.
“My mandate from the ECID is clean, green and security. There is no conflict between the two roles. Therefore, no line needs to be drawn between the two roles,” said Mrs McKenzie.
“In my opinion there was no violent situation except for the elderly shopkeeper who still refused to cooperate with EMPD officers. Lt Col Roberts from the SAPS was called regarding the situation.
“When I am found in situations such as this, either under the ECPF or ECID umbrella, I have to step back and respect the law enforcers who are on the scene because if I do appear to interfere, I could be charged with interference and obstruction of justice,” said Mrs McKenzie.
