Aggressive officers from the Ekurhuleni Metropolitan Police Department (EMPD) threatened Edenvale resident, Mr Brian Smith*, with arrest before taking money and a GPS from his car.
When he tried to lay a charge against the officers, Mr Smith was told the Edenvale SAPS could not open a case against EMPD officers.
Mr Smith was returning home from a function at the Birchwood Conference Centre on Friday night, November 14, when he was stopped by EMPD officers at the intersection of First Avenue and Horwood Street.
“The officers were waiting at the intersection and I had seen their blue lights flashing from some distance away. I had only consumed three Savannah Dry drinks over the course of the evening and was not concerned about my alcohol levels, or about my fitness to drive,” said Mr Smith.
He added that when pulled over, he remained compliant and civil to the three officers.
“The officers were in uniform and had official EMPD vehicles in attendance,” he said.
The officers claimed he was drunk and threatened Mr Smith with arrest, without conducting a breathalyser test or offering to take him for blood tests.
“I was asked to get out of my car and two of the officers plundered the vehicle, while their colleague verbally threatened and abused me to keep me out of their way,” Mr Smith said.
He added that the officers wore no name tags and refused to produce appointment certificates when he asked.
“They were arrogant and I was outnumbered and intimidated. When I took out my cellular phone to call my attorney, the interrogating officer knocked it out of my hand onto the street, breaking the screen in the process,” said Mr Smith.
“My GPS, as well as its mounting and power cord, were removed from its bag in my cubby hole and about R1 400 was taken from a bag in my boot. The officers also removed R120 from my back pocket,” he said.
Mr Smith later found that his girlfriend’s purse, which contained a small amount of cash and credit cards, had also been taken from his boot.
“I was then sworn at and told to leave. I was in shock and received trauma counselling the following day,” he said.
“When I visited the Edenvale Police Station on November 16 to lay a charge against the officers involved, I was told the Edenvale SAPS could not lay a change against officers from the EMPD and that the matter would be investigated internally by the EMPD,” said Mr Smith.
“The worst case scenario in this matter is that those officers were legitimate metro officers who are meant to protect us as citizens,” said Mr Smith.
The acting spokesperson for the Edenvale SAPS, Lieutenant Colonel Robbie Roberts, said Mr Smith should not have been refused help when he wanted to open a case against the officers involved.
“We cannot accept this type of behaviour. A full investigation will be launched to get to the bottom of this matter,” said Lt Col Roberts.
The spokesperson for the EMPD, Chief Superintendent Wilfred Kgasago, said contact would be made with Mr Smith and a case opened against the officers involved.
The matter will be investigated by the Standards and Integrity Unit of the EMPD.
*Identity withheld to protect the complainant during investigations.