Police gone Wild!A Durbanvillle resident has lodged a complaint against a group of police officers he said had tried to force him off the road and had hit him in the face, breaking his glasses.
Stewart Robinson said an officer had remarked: "Because you're white, you think you're special."
Robinson is the husband of Denise Robinson, a DA MP and shadow minister of women, youth, children and people with disabilities.
He said he had been driving into Durbanville at the speed limit of 60km/h, along Race Course Road, on Monday.
A police vehicle came up behind him and tried to overtake on a solid white line.
"There was no hard shoulder so I couldn't pull over. They drove up close behind me and tired to force me to stop."
Robinson pulled into the Total Durbanville garage and stopped his car. "They pulled me out of my car. They had no words of explanation, they hit me in the face and broke my glasses," Robinson said at a clinic, waiting to be examined by a doctor.
Robinson said the officers appeared to be "cross" because he had not pulled over.
Said Robinson: "There were half a dozen witnesses. When they realised what they did they drove away."
Robinson had not been able to see their name tags or read the vehicle's registration number once his glasses had been broken. Immediately after the incident he had lodged a complaint of assault at the Durbanville police station.
Cobus Mostert, owner of Total Durbanville, said he had been inside the garage's office when he heard a commotion outside: "When I arrived outside the policemen were leaving, five or six of them in a Mercedes Kombi vehicle. I assisted the man. He was bleeding from his face. They ripped off his glasses and he couldn't see properly. I helped him to drive to the Durbanville police station."
Mostert said he had asked the men not to leave the garage and an officer was rude to him before they left.
"We did manage to write down the registration number of the vehicle. They were all dressed in police uniform."
Mostert said a number of people had witnessed the incident and had been "afraid" to persuade the men to stop the assault. "Everybody was afraid. They were very aggressive. They knew there were all these witnesses."
Mostert said a delivery vehicle had been parked in front of the CCTV camera so he had been unable to get footage of the incident.
Durbanville resident Johan Smit witnessed the assault and tried to intervene when the group pulled Robinson from his vehicle.
"I stopped at the petrol station and he (Robinson) stopped behind me. Behind him stopped this police van. I saw them take the keys from the car and start hitting the man." An officer said: "You think you're special because you are white. We're going to kill all you f***ing whites."
Smit said he told Mostert to phone the police and the officers jumped into their van and drove away.
Democratic Alliance shadow police minister Dianne Kohler-Barnard on Monday said she was "beyond furious".
"The police wait until the end of the World Cup and then revert to type."
Kohler-Barnard said she had reported the incident to police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate.
Durbanville police spokeswoman Bernice Laas-Bezuidenhout did not answer her cellphone yesterday.
An officer at the police station confirmed a complaint had been lodged. Provincial police spokesman Frederick van Wyk confirmed the incident and said a police investigation was under way.
Stewart Robinson said an officer had remarked: "Because you're white, you think you're special."
Robinson is the husband of Denise Robinson, a DA MP and shadow minister of women, youth, children and people with disabilities.
He said he had been driving into Durbanville at the speed limit of 60km/h, along Race Course Road, on Monday.
A police vehicle came up behind him and tried to overtake on a solid white line.
"There was no hard shoulder so I couldn't pull over. They drove up close behind me and tired to force me to stop."
Robinson pulled into the Total Durbanville garage and stopped his car. "They pulled me out of my car. They had no words of explanation, they hit me in the face and broke my glasses," Robinson said at a clinic, waiting to be examined by a doctor.
Robinson said the officers appeared to be "cross" because he had not pulled over.
Said Robinson: "There were half a dozen witnesses. When they realised what they did they drove away."
Robinson had not been able to see their name tags or read the vehicle's registration number once his glasses had been broken. Immediately after the incident he had lodged a complaint of assault at the Durbanville police station.
Cobus Mostert, owner of Total Durbanville, said he had been inside the garage's office when he heard a commotion outside: "When I arrived outside the policemen were leaving, five or six of them in a Mercedes Kombi vehicle. I assisted the man. He was bleeding from his face. They ripped off his glasses and he couldn't see properly. I helped him to drive to the Durbanville police station."
Mostert said he had asked the men not to leave the garage and an officer was rude to him before they left.
"We did manage to write down the registration number of the vehicle. They were all dressed in police uniform."
Mostert said a number of people had witnessed the incident and had been "afraid" to persuade the men to stop the assault. "Everybody was afraid. They were very aggressive. They knew there were all these witnesses."
Mostert said a delivery vehicle had been parked in front of the CCTV camera so he had been unable to get footage of the incident.
Durbanville resident Johan Smit witnessed the assault and tried to intervene when the group pulled Robinson from his vehicle.
"I stopped at the petrol station and he (Robinson) stopped behind me. Behind him stopped this police van. I saw them take the keys from the car and start hitting the man." An officer said: "You think you're special because you are white. We're going to kill all you f***ing whites."
Smit said he told Mostert to phone the police and the officers jumped into their van and drove away.
Democratic Alliance shadow police minister Dianne Kohler-Barnard on Monday said she was "beyond furious".
"The police wait until the end of the World Cup and then revert to type."
Kohler-Barnard said she had reported the incident to police watchdog, the Independent Complaints Directorate.
Durbanville police spokeswoman Bernice Laas-Bezuidenhout did not answer her cellphone yesterday.
An officer at the police station confirmed a complaint had been lodged. Provincial police spokesman Frederick van Wyk confirmed the incident and said a police investigation was under way.
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