Randburg Police charged with assault
KENSINGTON B - Randburg Police now have charges laid against them, after Valentine's Day ordeal.
According to Lana Stander, four Randburg Police officers assaulted her while she was awake and more did so while she was unconscious.
In a dramatic turnaround, the State has withheld its decision to charge Stander with driving under the influence, and reckless and negligent driving, after she laid charges against National Police Commissioner General Riah Phiyega for theft and assault by Randburg Police officers after the arrest, and revealed medical evidence that she was sober.
Stander was arrested on 14 February after she was involved in a car accident in Ferndale.
Stander suffers from epilepsy, and the arrest triggered a seizure.
She claims that the officers did not breathalyse her, but handcuffed her and threw her into the van.
They allegedly drove her to a facility where they beat her and kicked her.
She revealed bruises on her arms, and scars on her wrists from the assault and tight handcuffs.
“When on of the police officers attempted to hit me again I defended myself by hitting her with the handcuffs and so blocking another attack,” she said.
The officers then drove her to Randburg Police Station and left her in the back of the van while they slept in the front seats. After they allegedly threatened her again, Stander had another seizure.
She claims that although she was unconscious, two witnesses can verify that the officers dragged her out the van and danced around her.
Stander was taken to the holding cells at the station, where she was allegedly denied a phone call, and told that she could not take medication for her condition because she was drunk. When she was finally released, her friend Bernhard Bekker helped her lay the charges at Linden Police Station. Bekker said at court that 14 of Stander’s human rights were violated, ranging from brutal assault and torture to refusing medication for an illness such as epilepsy. They said that they will also lay civil charges for these.
Rand Randburg Police Spokesperson Warrant Officer Johannes Maja was contacted and comment is awaited.
Details: Randburg police 011 449 9000.o
