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 Police brutality in South AfricaWhat nobody knows, is the dangerous country we live in. I just heard the most unnerving statistics: a policeman is killed every eight days- that's right, 8 days!- in this country. Our police service now numbers about 270 000, civilians included. About a decade ago, I read other statistics, that proves that policemen in this country are targeted by criminals. I can't remember the exact figures, but to convey the situation, I am going to try and illustrate it: at the time we had about 125 000 police officers, while the USA had 9 to 10 times more. During that year, about 140 police officers were killed in the USA. In South Africa we had about 800 police officers killed during the same time. The number only included on duty policemen, not those targeted off duty. [Please remember, I cannot remember the exact numbers; I am totally dependent on my memory here and I can be wrong about the numbers.] If you look at these figures, I think it is understandable why the policemen in South Africa act tough and don't take any nonsense. My fellows that actually work 'outside', in and out of uniform, on the streets, are in mortal danger daily. The truth is, the members of the South African Police Service are not brutal. We serve with dignity and pride. However, we also serve under severe pressure, and maybe I cannot be objective, but I understand when, if and why the members explode from time to time and operate outside the parameters set for them. We are constantly under the scrutiny of the press and civil rights organizations, that pounce on any small mistake and blow it out of proportion for sensation. Truth be told, it was the same during Apartheid, but at the time South Africa had no answer to the world. We were condemned from the word go, probably because a large part of the Police was white. Nowadays, the police is less than 15% white; a large number of these people are too old to work outside anymore, because they are the legacy of the past; another significant portion of the white members are women who does office work. Young white men don't join the Police because there are absolutely no prospects for promotion, based on Affirmative Action. The South African Police have become an organization dominated by African people at all levels, from the lowest to the highest. We cannot be condemned for racism anymore. What disturbs me, is the fact that most of the policemen killed are black people, killed by black people. The killings are not usually across races. To me that is actually irrelevant, because I am not racist at all, but it is a statistic that the mathematicians are willing to share. The fact of the matter is, my brothers get slaughtered daily, and my perception is that nobody outside my environment knows about it. I want to shout it out to the world: Please take note!, but the shout goes into a void, and nobody responds. I want you all to think of this, the next time you want to complain about Police being inept, slow to respond or Police brutality: you are lucky. Your police officers don't get killed like my brothers do daily. I am addressing this to everybody, not just the USA. In the UK, the bobbies don't even carry firearms as a rule! Utopia! In Australia and New Zealand, I don't even remember the last time a police officer got killed on duty. You should all be thankful that your police officers work in relative safety, and most return home after a days work. In South Africa, every day you don the uniform could literally be your last. For many it is. |
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Riaan |
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The reasons Some years ago a man (adult) used a chainsaw to decapitate a husky puppy for no reason other that he could do it. Just after that incident another adult man put an Alsatian puppy in an oven and roasted it alive because it barked incessantly. About 2000 or 2001, three teens broke into the oceanarium in Port Elizabeth and killed about 40 penguins, just for fun. Two days ago, a young mother was waylaid at the gate to her farm. She was shot four times and killed, and her vehicle stolen. It was recovered a couple of miles away- nothing was taken. I also remember a case some time ago where a cat was doused with fuel and set alight for fun. This was captured on cellular phones and put on youtube. Those involved were teens. I remember a case of an old woman of 88 whose hands were bound with wire coathangers. She was raped repeatedly, and eventually tortured to death using a hot clothes iron and cigarette butts. There are many, many more examples about the total lack of respect for life, too many to mention here. Yes, the general population has become violent beyond measure. Use your search engine (I use Blackle.com) and have a look at the crime statistics in South Africa. Violent crime and death is at the order of the day. The police officers are not incompetent, but we are understaffed and short of equipment. Oh, by the way, I just contacted our HR, and white police officers account for 9,27% of the total number of policemen in South Africa. OK, some of my colleagues also have some input into this issue. We just discussed this amongst ourselves, and they want me to explain more. A lot of young adults of today grew up in environments where they didn't have strong and healthy examples. They live in squalor, poverty and have no prospects for the future. They have no jobs or education, and are often in a cycle of drug abuse, family violence and gangsterism. These young people have no hope, and therefor also care less about the consequences of actions: anything is better than their current situation. A lot of them turn to criminality, and become wealthy or even rich; this is then the example set to other youngsters, and they emulate the criminal behavior because it seems to be successful. The structure of our society is violent, but then you also need to know that Africa as a continent is violent as well. It is part of the culture of the continent. There is an expression here: Africa's tough, boy. Well, that's exactly true. Africa is tough, and for the most part, the people only understand violence as an expression of dominance. You only need to look at all the little wars going on in the continent. Use Blackle.com, and find out about the British soldiers that were abducted and abused in Nigeria or the Kongo years ago; I saw a documentary on it on NatGeo or Discovery a while back. The people are ruthless and without mercy.There was also a movie with Bruce Willis in the lead, about a platoon that escorted some people to safety during one of these wars. It is not illustrated graphically in the movie, but it is mentioned that the terrorists cur off the breasts of young mothers so that they cannot feed their infants. Men are castrated with pangas- a long blade, used to clear sugar cane or jungle growth. Well, that is true, it happened and still happens, it is not just something to make a movie interesting. The violence and murder done in the movie Blood Diamond, with Leonardo diCaprio, is close to realistic, but that is just a story built around facts.There is also another movie, Blackhawk down, about a helicopter that was shot down in Mogadishu, Somalia, that was based on the truth. In that movie the violence is graphically illustrated, and very realistic. That is also the kind of violence that is found everywhere else on the continent. Although South Africa is not officially in a war zone, the atrocities committed by criminals include the same violence on defenseless victims. Just go read some of our headlines a month or two ago: a group of thugs started killing indiscriminately, without reason, if I remember correctly in the Eastern Cape province or KwaZulu/Natal province. They killed about 30 or 40 people. Last week a vigilante group was just about wiped out by the local population in Pomeroy, KwaZulu/Natal; I think 30-odd were killed. As I say, in my opinion the Police usually work within their mandate and the framework as set out by the local (meaning South African) Police Act, but if you look at the general community, you can't fault the police when things go wrong. The two police members killed at the Lonmin mine on Monday, were attacked by a mob that was armed with firearms; according to an acquaintance of mine, they had Ak47 rifles handy. These killings were done before the police took any action against the mob participating in the illegal strike, damaging the mine property and intimidating non striking workers. The Police only took action after their colleagues were killed. |
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Bonkers I remember being in the Dominican Republic and in my youthfull wisdom crossing the country by myself in a jeep, great experience but know the rules. As one of the few white men outside the resorts everytime a policeman saw me I got whistled at to pull over. You gave the cop $2 and he let you on your way a form of local tax. If you did not give the $2, it would then be $5, then $10, the $20, no dollar meant a night in the cells. Thankfully I never paid more than $2 thanks to the advice of the guy who hired me the jeep. But you're riding along and the next moment there are two guys next to you on a motorbike one with an AK47 pointing at you. Bandits but I just ignored them as anything else seemed silly. I think you can break it down into social economic climate with Developed nations, developing nations and 3rd world. So for me the cops of Western Europe and places like Canada Japan, HK, Australia have it pretty easy, developing nations like Mexico, Brazil, Eastern Europe, South Africa are going to have hot spots. 3rd world nations well that's just a mess as the poverty of the nations means they cannot fund a proper police force and they tend to be more like malita's. Now thats not to say that you might experience 3rd world environments in major cities and I would imagine an American police officer who patrol the ghetto's might have a lot in common with someone who patrols the Favelas of Brazil or the townships of South Africa. There always seems to be a lot of overspill of politics into the police and sometimes they must feel like they are fighting with one arm tied behind their back. In summary braver men and women than me and I take my hat off to them. There is always going to be bad apples, in some batches more bad apples than others. But the overriding instinct of most people who join the police is to protect and serve and regardless of country or situation I admire this trait. When it comes down to really horrific crimes the police all pull together to catch the criminals who perpetrated the evil deeds. |
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Riaan I'm very aware of the Battle of Mogadishu (Blackhawk Down). I was Combat Rescue at the time. Though my squad wasn't involved in the rescue, we watched it unfold realtime. We wanted to level the city but were stopped. I understand trying to help someone only to have them knife you for your efforts. To say you have a tough gig is an understatement. |
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thumper |
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Another one dies Yes Chris, it's true: a lot of the old policemen were like the guy you described. Those have all since been retrenched, left for greener pastures, or on pension. There is something else that a lot of people ignore conveniently. The majority of white people were opposed to Apartheid. If you look at the referendum of 1991, the question was asked if the National Party (the Apartheid Government) should go ahead with the reforms and continue on the road to hand over power to the majority. The answer was an overwhelming YES- a huge majority vote (but just white people could vote). The point I want to make is that not all the white people, and police and army members specifically, were racist. I don't deny that a lot were, but I think most were not. I am not sure, and to generalize may be dangerous, but I think the people at the top could have been racist, and they reached the top because of their convictions. The footsoldiers just followed orders, in the hopes of reaching the top themselves, or to avoid being ridiculed and outcast by their peers. Along the way to the top most adopted the racist convictions as their own, and when they reached the top, they continued the cycle. I digress a little here from the original idea about police brutality. Let's get back to that. After another brother-in-arms was killed yesterday, I will understand if the culprits get assaulted during arrest. It makes three men in three days. Personally I avoid violence (one of the reasons that I qualified as an analyst, profiler and later cryptographer), but things like this makes me angry. It was totally unnecessary to kill that policeman. He had a wife and children. Their whole future has been taken away from them. He was the breadwinner, besides being a husband and father. Now those children will be hard pressed to complete school, let alone attend university or college. Also, their figure of authority and their example has been taken away; who knows how maladjusted they may become after this trauma. It is in times like these that I look away instead of stopping the brutality. I won't participate, but I won't stop it either. It is also a coping mechanism for the friends and colleagues who were left. They want to vent their anger and frustration, and I understand that. To hit a punching bag in a gym is just not the same as getting back to the one who did the wrong. There is a culture here to avoid psychologists and psychiatrists in the SA Police; I understand that it is similar in other countries as well. The men don't want to be seen as weak, meek or mad. They do the manly thing and hit back, instead of getting professional help to cope with the anger and sadness. This relates back to my previous post that describe the violence in Africa, and South Africa in particular. It just won't do to show mercy, meekness or weakness. Hit back, hit hard, because if you don't, the next criminal will find it so much easier to kill another cop. Make them scared of us, instead of us being scared, type of attitude. I hope I conveyed this sentiment correctly; I find it difficult to express myself clearly. I think it is partly this attitude that causes the police brutality. |
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Back to Police Brutality at LONMIN mine |
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I got a link There are several videos on the LONMIN shooting yesterday. Look at them all, and you will see that the first shots with live ammunition were fired at the police, and only then they retaliated. I chose this link because Eye Witness News (EWN) are impartial and objective. I have never seen them approach a story with an agenda, and I often get more truth from them than other sources. |
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wow a miners dispute |
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I found one of the videos I was looking for |
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Answer to a question, that I copied and pasted here without editing it. With our progressive and liberal constitution, we (police) are not militant at all. Quite the opposite. However, we live in the most violent society outside a war zone. In fact, our society is more violent than many war zones. Seen in that light, it's no wonder that we escalate through minimum violence to maximum violence quickly: a policemen is killed here every 8 to 9 days. In fact, on duty policemen of any unit, and undercover policemen (and their families), are deliberately targeted by criminals. I can't remember the last time a suspect died in police custody. I am lucky, so far: nobody has attacked me yet, or tried to place blame. Rather, everybody asks questions similar to yours, and I answer truthfully. It works very well to convey the true facts, that you may not get through your media. I have no agenda: I cannot gain anything from lying, and stand to lose friends I have made here on GameKnot if I lie. Anyway, in the end the truth will out! So I will tell you what I think the truth is, as far as I know. If I make false statements, I will retract them, and ask a pardon. Protests in SA are seldom without violence from the side of the protesters. Enter the African psyche and culture. This part is difficult to convey, but believe me when I explain what I can. I can speak 4 indigenous languages fluently, 2 others, somewhat, and 2 more I understand a little. I know and understand the different tribal cultures and customs. They all have 1 thing common: violence. What cannot be begged, is taken by force. This is how the whole continent works, as well. Ask any marine that was in Somalia or Cote d'Ivoire. They'll agree on that. Did you see the movie Black Hawk down? Well, that violence is not just a scene for a movie- that violence has been replicated very accurately. Also, the violence in the movie Blood diamond, with Leonardo di Caprio, is accurate. Africa is very violent. It is an inherent trait common to all the ethnic peoples here. I expect you will be shocked if you realize just how uncivilized (according to Western standards) a lot of indigenous [read black] people here are. I am not racist, really. I love this country and it's people. To me it is very clear that the footage you saw were carefully edited. Let me refer you to this link: www.ewn.co.za. I like to read Eye Witness News, because I find them impartial. Also look at this: www.youtube.com. You can see the dust the bullets kick up. These video clips are by journalists, not policemen. I am still looking for the footage of the firearms being taken from the dead and injured, but you can see the policemen picking up kieries (traditional clubs) and x!alemba's (large bush knives, used to clear vegetation). The land grabs that I referred to are in Zimbabwe, a neighboring country, to the north of South Africa. The president is Robert Mugabe. His land grab policies have been rejected as unfair and illegal by a court of the African Union, held in Windhoek, Namibia, but he refuses to adhere to the findings of the court. We don't have such land grabs here, yet. That is another story in the making, but I'll explain that in another message later, if you are interested. Remember that Apartheid lasted about 40 years; it wasn't implemented when the first European set foot on African soil in 1652. My dad brought me up that Apartheid was wrong. He taught me to oppose Apartheid. Also, remember that the WHITE vote of the referendum of 1991 said yes to change; the majority of white people were opposed to Apartheid, and that referendum proved it. Black people didn't have the vote yet. Their first opportunity to vote was in 1994. I agree that skin color does not make the man. The footage that you saw does not demonstrate that the front lines, with non-lethal weapons, have already been breached. I saw that footage on the national media, but I can't find it yet on the net. We are not issued with tasers, for fear of accusations of torture; a technique used by some old-time policemen was to take an old telephone that has a crank and generates electricity, and shock suspects with it until they answer questions put to them truthfully. It didn't leave any marks, and is almost undetectable later. Effective, brutal, and highly illegal. I was assaulted myself by older and more senior white policemen because I reported the use of such a device to a senior manager. I was about 19 at the time, and quite fresh in the police. I was a constable. If you have ever been in such a military situation, you will know that in any life threatening situation, with lots of adrenalin pumping and the prospect of serious injury or death very real, it is very difficult to stop shooting, especially after weeks of frustration, and other factors such as very hot weather, fatigue and retribution or revenge for the deceased policemen on your mind. The instinct of self preservation is very strong, and the average person will preserve the self at all costs. I understand what you are saying: the policemen should be disciplined enough to stop shooting when the command is given. It might also just be a case that the late shots were made because the men didn't hear the command after the noise seconds before. Or maybe their lives were still in danger, and the command to stop firing was given too early. There is an official inquiry that started today, led by a respectable retired judge. |
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