Man’s body found in police cell in Atlantis, Ipid to probe cause of death

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating the death of a 25-year-old man in the holding cells of a police station in Atlantis, Cape Town.

The Daily Voice reported Demitri Brewell’s family was alerted at 04.00am on Sunday that he was dead.

Allegations surrounding his death are that the police physically assaulted him before he was arrested, but the cause of his death is still unknown, and investigations are still under way.

“A week prior to his death, the police stopped him but found nothing on him. They beat him, his face was still swollen from that beating,” Brewell’s brother reportedly told The Daily Voice.

Western Cape police spokesperson Siyabulela Malo said the “circumstances surrounding the death of a 25-year-old male who collapsed in the police cells in Atlantis, in the early hours of Sunday morning at about 00:30, are being investigated”.

“The suspect [Brewell] was apprehended on the evening of Saturday, February 22 after he was found in possession of drugs in Edinburgh Place.”

A post-mortem was yet to be conducted to determine the cause of his death, Malo added.

The acting national spokesperson for Ipid, Sontaga Seisa, said no arrests have been made yet as investigations were still under way.

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