Dirty cops don’t belong on force
JOBURG - Last week a video emerged that allegedly showed two men being assaulted by members of the Douglasdale Police Station.
The men in the video describe the horrific ordeal and explain that police officers carried out a rectal search on the ground in a parking lot. In the video, one can hear the cries from the two men, pleading with the police officers. The officers are, in the video, unsympathetic, unprofessional and downright cruel. No one deserves to go through what these two men allegedly experienced. It does not matter if these were legitimate suspects or not. The police’s alleged actions, in this video, are unacceptable, embarrassing and put the South African Police Service to shame.
What makes matters worse is the fact that not all police officers are corrupt and abusive. There are a few rotten apples who have spoiled the image of the majority.
There are so many wonderful, brave and heroic officers out there, but idiots like this will make many South African citizens fear the police. This is a sad truth and a reality that should not be.
Douglasdale Community Police Forum chairperson, Jean Berdou, told Fourways Review that part of the investigation had been passed on to the Gauteng Provincial Police to make a decision on suspending the Douglasdale police members involved in the incident. Great! This is a proactive start to holding these police officers accountable. Let’s hope that the investigation is swift and these officers face the full might of the law, which they were meant to uphold.
Police officers who are abusive, power hungry and bring shame to the force do not deserve to wear a police uniform – the same uniform officers wear when fighting crime and saving lives.
Officers who do this country no favours should wear bright orange uniforms … the same ones we see prisoners at Leeuwkop Prison wearing, as that is where they belong.
Sadly, so often we’ve seen investigators turn a blind eye to the wrongdoings of the police – and so the wrong-doers continue to ‘protect’ citizens of South Africa, and continue to give the good guys a bad name.
I hope that this will not be one of those cases. I hope that the truth will come out and those in the wrong will be held responsible.
Also read: Attorney for the victims of alleged police assault speaks out
and DA Gauteng Shadow MEC for Community Safety comments on alleged Douglasdale police brutality video
