Cop Brutallity in Stellenbosch

[turquoisefyre]

A friend of mine came a cross this: http://www.blueworld.co.za/videos/view.aspx?id=709

[turquoisefyre]

and more:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuo51aA_msw

[mynameis]

Maties tell of cop terror
10/03/2008 07:17 - (SA)


Stephan Matthee and Jason Boswell, Die Burger

Stellenbosch - The heavy-handed behaviour of police in drug busts in
three night spots might end up in court after various partygoers
lodged complaints against the police.

The raids took place in the Mystic Boer, Bohemia and the Springbok Pub
early on Saturday morning.

According to police, drugs were found in all three places.

Reports claim that the police used pepper spray and fired shots.
Female partygoers were allegedly searched by a male policeman.

Police spokesperson Elliot Sinyangana said the drug busts, at about
01:00, yielded six pieces of hashish, 150g dagga and some cocaine.

He said that no one had been arrested because the drugs that were
found had been left behind in the clubs.

Sinyangana added that complaints over police conduct would be
investigated thoroughly.

Among those allegedly manhandled in Bohemia were a Belgian poet and a
Dutch author.

Cellphone recording

The police apparently ordered students to destroy cellphone recordings
of the raids. Some students claim their cellphones were broken.

Video recordings from closed-circuit television cameras in two of the
popular night spots show how the police stormed in with guns and
shoved both male and female students around without them putting up
any resistance.

They also show the police spraying pepper spray in students' faces
while they were sitting on the ground.

"You can't search my vagina!" a distressed female student cried out,
according to one of the barmen at Bohemia, who added that the girl had
been pawed by the police.

Asthmatics and diabetics told how they had been prevented by the
police from seeking medical treatment.

Jan Oberholzer, co-owner of Bohemia, said that there were holes in the
ceiling of the establishment which were "seemingly bullet holes".

The video material clearly shows shots being fired as the police storm in.

Threatened with shotguns

Sinyangana said no shots had been fired.

Eyewitnesses said that the police had guns - including shotguns - with
them at all times and that these were used to threaten, push and even
hit students.

Although the police later said that the weapons had not been loaded, a
cartridge was removed from the street outside the Springbok Pub after
a policeman reloaded his weapon and the cartridge fell out.

Willem Coertzen, owner of Mystic Boer, who had been handcuffed and
reportedly knocked in the face with a gun, said that the police had
done the same sort of thing last year and had got away with it.

"The difference is that we have video evidence this time."

A law student, Gillian Armstrong, said she had been beaten, sprayed
with pepper spray and thrown to the ground.

Woman pulled by her hair

Eyewitnesses told how a female student had been hit by a police
officer because she had been "in his way".

A shocked woman, who only identified herself as Adel, told how she was
slapped and beaten several times by a police officer.

Eyewitnesses told how a woman was pulled across the street by her hair.

After the police realised that photos and videos had been captured on
cellphones, they tried to force the students to destroy the evidence
by threatening them that they would be detained.


CCTV video: http://www.dieburger.com/Pages/MultiMedia/Video.aspx?uuid=170.204579939

[lumukanda]

i posted about this here (http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21716).
that town is about 15 minutes from me and i know those places very well, they're not drug hotspots by a long shot, just more fascist behaviour from the police in the 'new' south africa.

[turquoisefyre]

i posted about this here (http://www.davidicke.com/forum/showthread.php?t=21716).
that town is about 15 minutes from me and i know those places very well, they're not drug hotspots by a long shot, just more fascist behaviour from the police in the 'new' south africa.

hehe. didn't see it! just posted it as soon as i got it...maybe it's a good thing people getting raded like that.

you tell them the score with the world turning into a police state, and they all just laugh at you. maybe there needs to be more raids with police kicking ass before people wake up...and take their freedom seriously...

[lumukanda]

hehe. didn't see it! just posted it as soon as i got it...maybe it's a good thing people getting raded like that.

you tell them the score with the world turning into a police state, and they all just laugh at you. maybe there needs to be more raids with police kicking ass before people wake up...and take their freedom seriously...
oh i wish it were so simple.
lemme give you some background, stellenbosch is a university town, it's a predominantly afrikaans university, most of south africa's best afrikaans playwrites, authors etc come from there, as far as they're concerned 'it's the black government' (take a look at the comments on that youtube link you posted), they forget of course, that this kind of action typifies the old government (of course we know it's the loomies MO), even if those people were to react, and they will, it will be against the black led government, and not fascism in general.
it makes me want to scream, or cry, it depends on my mood.

[lumukanda]

a first hand account (check out the comments page, sickening)

Dear Editor,

Well planned raid? I was there that night; I got thrown into a van for standing around. I wasn't searched, they just threw me into a van. If the raid on Friday night was planned, like the Stellenbosch police commissioner said it was, then it must have been planned by one of their top preschool officers!

The way they came in guns blazing, literally, set the stage for the chaos that ensued. And of course, once again, the police will get off without accepting responsibility for their actions, saying it necessary to use such force against so many, young, and slightly intoxicated students.

I was there and yes it was a war zone, once the police had started firing off their weapons and nailing everyone with the mace. The video evidence captured at both Mystic Boer and Bohemia, clearly show how the police abuse their power.

Both these "clubs" are popular hangouts for young students and it was just another Friday night out, and being students, everyone was partying.

Firstly it is very clear that shots were fired. Saying that the holes could have been put in the roof after by angry bar owners is ridiculous, and it's clear that the police commissioner is making excuses for how poor their "planned" operation went, and how unprofessionally it was executed!

From what I have seen in the past it should be normal procedure to raid premises for drugs with a dog unit. Instead they used a special task force, that came in spraying pepper spray in peoples faces, firing their shotguns and of course the necessary beatings that were so willingly dealt out.

If the police had really done their homework why would they come in and fire weapons and use such force when it's really clear by what they recovered that it was pretty pointless, except if they wanted to put fear and tarnish an already poor reputation.

If that was their mission they should get all get medals and a raise because it seems they always do that just perfectly. Those students did not offer resistance, no weapons were found on anyone, so the gun-toting was really uncalled for. Why such a use of force was necessary I do not know.

If the police were really looking for drugs why did they not go to where the drugs come from, investigate where the drug dealers are living and getting stock from? It seems that going out to raid a few bars for 150g of marijuana and some hashish is a very unsuccessful raid.

Surely if the raid was as well-planned as the police claim it was they should have recovered more drugs and at least made an arrest? Which by the way, there were none.

The thing that makes me so angry is that although there is video evidence, the police have the power to say that it was what was necessary. Nothing will come of the blatant abuse of human rights. I'm all for drug raids and the police doing their work, it just seems that they are always doing it wrong.

And when it goes pear-shaped, like this weekend past, they brush it off and say excessive force was necessary.

http://www.news24.com/News24/MyNews24/Your_story/0,,2-2127-2128_2285956,00.html

[freeworld]

A friend of mine came a cross this: http://www.blueworld.co.za/videos/view.aspx?id=709

Give the wrong type of person power and this is what happens, i see it in all walks of life and in my line of work i never give anyone power who will abuse it!

People should be given a psychological test before any power is bestowed upon them :mad:

[lumukanda]

at least something good has come of this :

Maties unite on Facebook

Cape Town - Members of social networking website Facebook have come together in their condemnation of the controversial Stellenbosch police raids.

In just under 36 hours, one Facebook group called "Police raids in Stellenbosch" has swelled to around 3 000 members.

The group, created by Meg Cooper, features video footage of the raids, photographs of the aftermath, links to various organisations and a wide variety of opinion on the subject.

"The group was started to get hold of everyone that was involved in the ordeal. We wanted to get everyone to come into the respective clubs to give statements and urge them to lay charges and not just take this kind of crap anymore," said Cooper, via an e-mail interview on Facebook.

"Obviously you can see it has become so much more than that! It has become a place where people from all over can voice there opinions on the matter."

Among the 29 threads under discussion in the group, some students have started planning a protest march to coincide with the International Day of Police Brutality on March 15. Through posts on the discussion board, activity is slowly being organised but no final date has been set for the action.

For Cooper, the group has grown far beyond its original purpose.

"It amazes me how this whole thing has united so many people from so many different backgrounds. For once people are standing up together to say that this kind of thing shouldn't have happened and should never again."

Not spur of the moment

It was reported earlier on Tuesday that the controversial drugs bust during the early morning hours of Saturday at three popular venues in town did not take place on the spur of the moment.

It was preceded by various clandestine operations during which it became apparent that drugs could be bought at the particular premises.

Owners of licensed sites were also requested by the local alcohol forum two weeks ago to get their matters in order regarding their responsibility not to allow drug dealing on their premises.

Drug dealing continued nevertheless, said Director Dirk Mentoor, commissioner of the Stellenbosch police station, on Monday.

This was confirmed by operations on Friday evening on the eve of the bust. "We knew there was drug abuse before we arrived."

Mentoor said there was no "flood" of complaints after the bust and by late on Monday only four charges of assault had been filed with the police.
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2286059,00.html

[turquoisefyre]

oh i wish it were so simple.
lemme give you some background, stellenbosch is a university town, it's a predominantly afrikaans university, most of south africa's best afrikaans playwrites, authors etc come from there, as far as they're concerned 'it's the black government' (take a look at the comments on that youtube link you posted), they forget of course, that this kind of action typifies the old government (of course we know it's the loomies MO), even if those people were to react, and they will, it will be against the black led government, and not fascism in general.
it makes me want to scream, or cry, it depends on my mood.

i feel for you mate. but i still feel locals everywhere should start to be more responsible for educating each other about basic freedoms. as is always my view...the dark forces attempting to establish hell on earth doesn't give a fcuk about race, religion, status, rank etc.

[lumukanda]

hey, i hear you man, i've already been in contact with a few of my friends of mine at the uni there, and we're busy compiling some evidence of police brutality in south africa in the last couple of months (we've been having some huge student protests, especially up north, and the police reaction has been the standard teargas, rubber bullets and manhandling) and to show this in context with similar things in the states and asia.
it is hard though, because south african society is so polarised at the moment, but of course, that too is part of the plan.

[turquoisefyre]

hey, i hear you man, i've already been in contact with a few of my friends of mine at the uni there, and we're busy compiling some evidence of police brutality in south africa in the last couple of months (we've been having some huge student protests, especially up north, and the police reaction has been the standard teargas, rubber bullets and manhandling) and to show this in context with similar things in the states and asia.
it is hard though, because south african society is so polarised at the moment, but of course, that too is part of the plan.

hey dude, you guys are going to get help soon!:
Miss Teen USA 2007 - South Carolina answers a question - YouTube

no, seriously, the world's societies are in big shit, because no seems to want to take the lead and make a stand. all the best man.