Traffic cop assaults cellphone man (video)

The hot air generators at city hall are deaftenly silent on the one rare instance where they could have contributed to something “intelligent”. Too busy contemplating their freebee wardrobe, or are they blaming Eichkom selective loadshedding again ??.
Bet you this incident conveniently dissappears off the radar just like the “Pigs in Bullet-proof vests” of Stellenbosch.
After all, what percentage of court dockets get “lost”.
Traffic cops or taxi drivers ? what’s the difference in EL ? One lot wear uniforms !

that fat vark TRAFFIC officer is a racist that i know for a fact. i have had a run with him. he tells you who he is and says that by looking at you he doesnt like you.

bad police is a sign of a crumbling governance. donot be a by stander, do something

well! johny G you are at liberty to say what you want but I would to tell you again at this moment: what happened to you was a terrible accident that could have been avoided if our enforcement system was adequately equiped mostly important with devoted traffic officials. Its not your fault you did all for your part despite that it did not help, but it does not mean you must stop now that it did not help your case. I am very sorry to hear what happened to your family.

coming to happened to me and perhaps contrast agains your situation; in my case a white traffic official helped the perpertrator of an unlawfull act escape, vanish without trace, he pushed all junior officials who got there before him (including a white SAPS official)to channel traffic he attends to me. When I asked him to test the couple he refused. suddenly, he released them.

the white police officer asked him how does he do that, he was mum. clearly this white SAPS office was reminding him about justice and the purpose of having traffic officers on raod( which is to enforce aready existing laws, not create new one for convinience). Now clearly this is not a racial game by me and it should not appear as one to any one. A senior traffic officer has broken the law and necessary steps must be taken, not because he is white but because he has broken the law and treated me unfairly.Undisputable facts, Johny G. The irresponsible traffic officer actualy is not alone, he is being helped by the Eastern Cape Transport department. the last time I checked this specific department was predominantly “black” or should I say “african”. So clearly Johny G this is not a race game as you charge. There are many white law enforcement officers who are very responsible, matured and devoted to they work and can work with any body without prejudgement. I do not want to go further as this case is heading for the courts, but I thought I should clearify and acknowledge that perhaps I should not have commented on this issue. the good thingthough is that I also got to know your storry which like mine I do not look at race matter. take care.

I wish they had cellphone recordings when my dad was a police officer being stabbed to death in EL. I think people who try to take on police officers should be beaten in public,like Brazil, and made examples of and they will think twice before doing it again. irrespective of skin colour. U cant keep playing the racist card. RESPECT

Not cool, but difficult to really judge if the officer was provoked, without knowing what went down prior to the head butt. (Still does’nt make it right, I know)

But look at what happens after when the white cop is accosted by a tall black guy while walking away …. a black cop intervenes and holds the tall black guy back.

Also, with the first section of the clip as the driver is being arrested, note:
3 black cops and one white cop are grappling with him.
Then white cop and one black cop stand aside after the cuffs are on and 2 black cops bundle the driver off to the van.

A pretty mixed bag, I’d say. I don’t see a racial issue here at all, and I’m trying to be objective. I see use of force in arrest (may or not have been necessary) and an altercation involving an assault by a police officer (uncalled for, I would say).

First of all, that video is really not very clear and I think what’s really happening here is journalism of the standard normally reserved for that other slightly over the top daily paper.

Why were so many traffic officers chasing down one driver anyway? There must have been a rather good reason, one which the journo fails to make an effort to find out, relying rather on one eye witness account of the story, an eye witness that had been clubbing all night.

Second, I don’t think the arresting officers are using excessive force at all. Bear in mind, this was the end of a high speed pursuit, and merely by the actions of not stopping after an officer has ordered you to, either verbally or by indication of flashing lights and siren can be seen as resisting arrest. Clearly you would have broken the law, or the police would have no interest in you.

Finally, the “wounded victim” very rarely offers the side of the story that would include the provocation for the attack. In civilized societies with low crime rates, there is a place for complaints of police brutality. In places like South Africa, people have no respect for the law, and people who have no respect for the law should be taught to fear the law …

From the evidence that IS available, it looks to me the only criminal activity was from the side of the cop. I certainly do not condone it.

I’ve been reading constructive comments until I came across Well_done_cops’ comment. “White cop stands up for himself”, what nonsense – standing up to what? I have no respect for criminals whatsoever but police officers need not abuse their powers. We’ve seen various incidents of brutality over the past few years by black and white cops but they should all be denounced. I can understand in a case where a criminal resists arrest then by all means, go right ahead and teach such a scum a lesson.

I certainly hope you don’t condone criminal activity Vixen. Perhaps “condemn” was the word you were looking for

All we have to go on in this particular case is evidence that the cop assaulted the man who was filming the incident. We have no evidence that the man did anything wrong. We can condone criminal activities, but I certainly don’t want unruly cops assaulting me with no provocation just because they think they can.

a few months ago i was mugged and i cannot thank the cambridge police station enough for their help. i am much happier with them beating criminals than the criminals beating me..again..
the inspector(name unmentioned for security)has been on the ball even after 3 months. traffic cops or law enforcement rather be on the good side of the police. their job is to protect us!why get all heated about them beating up a criminal?would you prefer to fear for your life around every corner? every weekend there are fatal accidents around the various clubs of east london, white, black, coloured, indian etc. and i think the cops should be thanked for caring enough to be after drunk drivers. this should have nothing to do with black and white, i had a black cop helping with my case and he has no mercy for criminals either. i have seen many black males being arrested by black cops and being treated just as harshly..lets remember that these are CRIMINALS!!! why should a man that has been speeding, putting other innocent people’s lives in danger be treated like a king? i agree with the statement made that its never a racial issue when black people beat up, kill, rape whites for cellphones and other small possessions but as soon as one white cop stands up for himself its a race issue. get over it!apartheid is over(or in the process of being reversed).

Funny how the part of the video clip where the confrontation started is not on the clip. Has to make you wonder why the cop reacted in such a way!

Valeo!!
What are you confused about?

Vixen, I think we’re singing the same song. Perhaps you’re doing the Soprano bit, I’m doing the baritone part – but it’s the same tune.

As you said, unfortunate, but true.

Of course race should not matter Gandalf, but there is tendency to treat certain racial groups with less respect and less dignity than others. It’s not only race, it’s class as well. If you are perceived to be capable of suing the pants off minister of safety and security and get some cop into trouble, you are less likely to experience these little injustices. It’s unfortunate but true

Vixen, if someone resists apprehension, the officer is entitled to use “reasonable force”. If there is no resistance, then no such force is required. If no force is necessary, but is exerted anyway, then that looks like assault to me.

The point I think needs making is that it doesn’t matter what is the race of the person doing the assaulting, assault is wrong.

I think we have seen from the video in this particular case that no force was necessary. So Gandalf please. I am yet to learn if there is anything in law that equates using force to assault

Sheesh, we do miss the point, don’t we?

If an officer whose job it is to enforce the law assaults ANYONE, it’s wrong.
If the same officer has to use reasonable force to subdue someone who’s resisting arrest, it’s right.
If someone is being ticketed or arrested, and attempts to use force to evade ticketing or arrest, it’s not only wrong, it’s stupid.

The race of the wrong-doer is absolutely and completely immaterial.

Traffic cops are tasked with enforcing the law lizzie dear. It is not a cop’s job to go around assaulting people. Brutality from any law enforcement agent is not acceptable, especially if we subscribe to the notion that people are innocent until proven guilty in the court of law. Cops should definetely not see assaulting motorists, black or white as part of their jobs. Theirs is to ensure that motorists do not break the law

When black motorist are assualted by white traffic cops,they are doing their jobs and must not use the race card.What do you call it when black traffic cops are assulted by white motorist when they are doing their jobs as in the case of a manager of subaru motors in todays dispatch.

Vixen ….. no ……. Traffic and Law Enforcement are two different departments. Law Enforcement is the old City Police and there primary concern is our municipal bylaws where the traffic department’s primary concern is traffic violations.

Mmmm, too much beer can kill the old grey matter.

I am confused…Where for art thou Charra?

LOL Good one Liz..Khanyiso, brada..you had to have some in your belly…there’s no way you can be sober at 5 in the morning…Am I right?

Traffic cops are law enforcement Lizzie dear. And Khanyisa, they don’t know what they are doing if they can’t even do things by the book

Eish Khanyisa, Law Enforcement was not even at the seen, it was the TRAFFIC Department.

Mmmmm Maybee too much beer so early in the morning?

this was very terreble I was there I witness this asault Law enforcement must know what they are doing…

Oh okay Roy, understood

Yo Slapped Before….I wonder why they target the black and coloured areas?…I know that there are more fights and trouble in those areas….so maybe that y…In the white clubs the bounces their are in control….Now come to a coloured club…Even the bounces get moered…We aint scared of shite….once we were drinking in G’town and the police came by and kick our beers over and through out our CLOSED bottle of rum…Joh!! We had to keep my friend back as he was about to go at it with this idioto!!!

us white people do like to forget that we are VISITORS in this country, obviously most incidents will involve a black person..hello??? have white people ever considered the ratio of white to black?? we are merely a memory that triggers hate and frustration, frustration caused by the fact that only a select few black people have been given the PROMISES that every black person was made to believe would be a reality post 1994, i mean cmon do u really think this black white **** will ever end? no just go take a drive in gonubie on a saturday and see who the large majority of garden workers are!! who is to blame? our great goverment? should we not employ the poor and needy? who do to massive breeding happen to be the majority in this country… I agree with my black frends when they say that we had our time and should really either SHUT UP AND TAKE IT-or leave..because really guys all the blogging and moaning in the world wont change a dam thing, white people can never match black people for unity , i dont see white people marching in the streets for change!! instead we sit in our offices and blog…shame on us

Jo-ann, I guess it would depend on who had the dough.

Cops are very anti being caught on camera. If they are doing everything according to the book WHY? They go to extremes to prevent being filmed. Is there a clause about this in their book on procedure and conduct? Seems weird that there is another blog dealing with another cop alleging that someone head butted him. Now seems a pity there was not a camera at that scene.

Why must EVERYTHING in this country be turned into a racial issue?? For pete sake… if the price of brown bread goes up and white bread goes down, it’s probably racism as well…

Valeo, the point I tried to express was that it is not only WHITE cops ( as a blogger tried to insinuate )that beats up unruly members of the public.

Even if you had resisted it wouldn’t give anybody the right to trample all over you dignity by slapping you. Use necessary force yes, but slapping you is just going over board

I was also assaulted by white traffic cop b4.I admit that i was driving under the of alcohol, but that did not give him the right to slap me.As I did not resist.EL traffic cops target places that are attended by black and coloured people as if there are no white pubs and clubs.

Mali, not only do cops approach whites professionally and blacks with brutality- courtesy of apartheid years I guess, most bloggers would be responding differently if a black cop had assualted a white person coming out of a nightclun at 5am. Sure enough they would not be coming up with excuses for the cop. Just look at the court case where a white car salesman beat up a black traffic cop. You tell me if I’m wrong. Police often use force unnecessarily and often get away with it

I SAY BOO HOO

Ja…Take some of Quintons money…I agree with Themba…If you are handcuffed and cooperate with the police…why must they force you down to the ground?…just as and they will do it…but they use force first and that when I will get p*ssed off as well as moer him back….and then it\’s resisting arrest…I\’ll moer him and then he can arrest me for something real…That\’s why some people don\’t respect police…coz they think that they own a gun and a badge they are above the law…I have a 9mm …you don\’t see me pistol whipping people.

don`t care who says what police should not use excessive force.E.L police are notorious for this kind of behaviour.the crowd should have just evened out the odds.one guy should just have taken the cop to the cleaners.

Well done Mr. Sokopo. Is this perhaps a buddy of yours. Watch the video clip from a diffrent perspective. The footage clearly shows the officer being head butted by the “Victim”… I dont see the cop using a sjambok, neither did i see a guy being dragged to his feet or slammed against a fence? Good work with the one sided story..

ja these traffic officers are full of themselves, but then again why not , their boss Quinton chetty thinks he owns EL with his i dont care attitude for the people but only coloureds. who is surprised by the defence of those action from fellow white/coloured people. they are not subjected to roadblocks everyweekend like us at Mdantsane and KWT. the actions of this van der merwe are that of an old regime. tiyo sue that man’s behind as well as the municipality. i cannot believe the fat traffic women who pushes people and takes out a pepper spray instead of intervening and protecting tiyo from being assaulted by her colleague. this rot has to be uprooted from the Traffic Dept starting with the ja baas and do it like me big headed Quinton Chetty.

So Roy…What makes them so special that they are BLACK??Do blacks only shoot if you don’t don’t pull over quick??…Let me tell you that coloureds will shoot you just becoz you didn’t indicate…and white will shoot you only when you pull out your 9mm pistol…Why do some idiots have that stupid mentality?….Be scared of BLACKS…Ooooh they are the most dangerous race….Ooooh daai coloured sal jou steek!!..MXM…Everything end up as a damn racial issue!

why does the race card always have to be played, and no i’m not white. everything always has to be about racism does’nt it. gosh get with the programme people.

sintu grow up and look around you there are alot of white people who are trying to make this white and black thing work bro!!!wake up before someone sticks there foot up ur ***!!!it sounds like u the 1 with the race issues!what about the white farmers that are brutally assaulted and raped then murdered???u didnt stop to think bout that!!!get over yourself bro its not that difficult!

Those drunken hooligans can be thankful that the KZN Protection unit did not arrive on the scene instead of our traffic officials.
Apparently they will shoot at you if you do not pull over fast enough for them to pass.
I must add that they are mainly BLACK members of the unit and they don`t care what race you are.

Indian Larry!!..Ja ne…Laa Dee Daa’s is n bietjie gevaarlik…..

and this is the same Zuma talk his advocating among black people

while we are getting disrespected and treated without any dignity on the street – he went to court because NPA never gave him a heads up on his arrest

i mean WTF?

What ever happened before the video was taken doesn’t matter because it does not give the police offices the right use abusive behavior. Police these days think that they are above the law and that is not right. abusive bahavior is not part of their training. They need to remember that. Residents also need to remember that they cannot take the law into their own hands and assaulting the police officers does not help anything instead it makes things worse for them as residents.

being overworked and underpaid is not an excuse

there are guys working at mines, they dont go around assulting people

this police brutality is no different to what they were doing in those arpatheid days…

the these same people expect the black communities to work with them while they bash our heads in and treat us like dogs.

it always easy for people to say dont pull the race card because they the 1 who are feeling the pressure.Now that the tables have turned. yes moving forward is a good idea but what that traffic officer did is not the way. In most of the cases it just happens that the person who always say lets blush these this aside is the white person.

Oh dear.First prisoners jumping from windows and now the police are beating up the locals – how things have changed since the bad old days ! Lock them all up without trial I say !!

Just to point something out here guys, no racist allegations were made to me when I wrote the story, let’s keep it clean. By the way, the guy had been drinking yes, but that does not mean he deserved to be be slapped, head butted and lashed out at with a sjambok…

I so hope that Mr Tiyo sues these guys. I have also witnessed 3incidences so far but with police officers, 2 in EL last year Dec and one in PTA a month or two ago.It’s a pity I did not have my phone with me on the first two instances and I was too far on the 3rd incident.On all incidences, the police officers were assaulting the guys, no matter what those guys did but It was not right for those officers to beat up those guys and knock their heads on the police van door and on the tarred road.

These guys go to the night clubs and drink out of the boot of their cars. As the night progresses so to does their intoxication level. What happens next is they turn in racing drivers, your regular Michael Schumacher, Fernando Alonso, Kimi Raikonen, Louis Hamilton and you can through in poor Massa. They start racing and popping wheelies. As they get more pissed they transform into WWE and fights break out.

Most of the comments written display racial overtones. Black victim, white cop. Get over it, how many times does one see black Metro cops involved in rowdy scenes? Why wre so many cops on the scene? Obviously they were expecting trouble and that means their adrenalin is up….like the partygoers!!I rest my case.

grumps put yourself in the traffic cops shoes dont always play the race card deal with it people like you are holding our country back try get over yourself then comment on the white and black saga.immeterial of the cop being pink or blue he was doing his job and i think a job well done!mr terwin please give this guy a medal!we need more like him!the harregat attitude of our youth need n paar klappe now days!

Well, that video is rather interesting. I am in the Law Enforcement Services (City/Metro Police) here in BCM. I see that emotions are quite high, especially from people that were not even there. To educate the ignorant out there, this was Traffic Officials, NOT Law Enforcement. All those that claim to be beaten by us would know this.

Oh and by the way, we have not had any incidents like this, nor have we ever been convicted of assault. I know that there are a minority of people that will argue this. Ask yourself this though, how much do you really know of this situation?

i’d like to send a big P*SS OFF to dsobekwa for his comments on the white traffic cop and the events that he went through. let me tell you, my car was written off by a black RAF employee who fled the scene of the accident and later claimed his vehicle stolen to avoid prosecution, although i identified him. so go on.. you think you had it bad. reconsider playing race..
by the way, he got away with it all. while my wife was in crutches for 6 months and i LOST a car.

WELL DONE traffic officers of the eastern cape its about time you guys stood your ground and dished out a few smacks!the attitude of the younger generation has deteriorated!what are these guys doing on the street at 5 in the morning????they should be sleeping like the rest of us normal south africans not getting high or drunk at night clubs then go indanger inoccent lives trying to drive home!to the (fat dump cop)well done on a classic head butt i couldnt of kop stamped any better!lol.moral of my story play with fire an u gonna get burnt!decembers around the corner i dare you guys to have a dop then drive!!!fleet street holding cells are nice and clammy baba\”s gonna get u!

Irrefutable facts – let’s see that dumb speedcop talk himself out of that one, even if he is white.
Boot that obviously overfed “officer” who has never heard of “To Serve and Protect”
This is not America
Police brutality MUST be stopped

Valeo!!
I think we must rather go tt the God Father, Mr Shaiks and drink Rumba.

Hey folks, there seemed to be some confusion around the clips of the traffic cop. If you watch closely, you’ll see that the first “scene” is that of the traffic cops arresting the suspect.
The second “scene” is the one where the officer allegedly slaps Tiyo – they both play in the video insert.
In our story, we explain what happens to Tiyo first and then talk about the arrest of the suspect while the video clip shows the sequence of events the other way around. Hope that clears things up a little. – Online News Ed.

mmm – Siya – why be a racist today – There is a Cop in the scene, and there is a \”suspect\” or \”victim\” in the scene – would this video made it on this Blog if it was a black cop? Report what you read – they never mentioned colour in the report.

I learned early in my life never pick a fight with somebody who buys ink by the barrels – very selective reporting

Issue all officers of the law with sjamboks and give those drunken hooligans a bloody good hiding.
That is the only language they understand.

Schumi ohh please working all nite and being under paid does not mean go aroung beating BLACK people even if they are drunk.And please comment on what you read not what you think have happed.Like you Zozo i only comment to what the article is saying not what i think happened.These cops need to get what they deserve.

Agree with Sintu….Why was he beaten??…It does not give the cop the right to moer someone out the blue..and if he did do something wrong…why wasn’t he arrested then??….I know we complain when Police aint doing their work but don’t moer the guy if he did something wrong…arrest him…and moer him in the cell.

The traffic cop stop the driver of the car, Sintu is the passenger. As the driver winds his window down, the fat dump cop slaps him through the face!!
Driver: Hey – why did you do that!!!

fat dump cop: my rules says that as you wind your window down you licence should be already in your hand – do not waste my time!!

The fat dump cop walks over to the Sintu’s side of the car and knock on the window. As Sintu winds down the window the fat dump cop WHAP, slap Sintu like a KFC zinger burger

Sintu: Hey – what was that for!!!

fat dump cop: I fulfilled your wishes…

Sintu: What wish was that?

fat dump cop: as soon as this car pull away, and before you and your friend take that first turn, you would have said: “He should have tried that **** with me…”

drunk or not drunk that guy that came out of the club to watch what was going on did not deserve to get thrown around like that. I dont care who says what. Charge that cop qha. An example needs to be set on 1 just before the festive season.

policemen are known to abuse their power, there is no law prohibiting bystanders from taking videos of things that happen around them. if the ‘police officers’ were doing their job properly they wouldnt need to be worried abt ppl filming the whole thing.
by the way since i wasnt there i am commenting on the story written above not on what maybe could have happened!!!!

been to same club some time ago; place is teaming with countless unruly and drunk youngsters. can only agree with schumi and the rest.

I fully agree with schumi. These traffic officers and Police officers works under tremendous pressure. The question that needs to be asked here is what actually happened before the video was taken???

Under no circumstances that a Cop can just beat people as they please. I mean the other guy did not even resist when being arrested but they had to beat him..WHY?These cops thinks that they are Lords and they can do as they like to us. I have an experience of being assulted by a cop and bilieve me i sued him no one is allowed to raise hand on me.These guyz need to be realised and get rid of them imediately since they are a threat to the poor black community.Sue them Mfethu if you need assistance you will get it.

East London traffic officers ithink they are untouchable because they have are people of te law they think they can do as they please. That F… up behavour only happens to black people. I think we looking at this thing very litely. That fat dump cop would not have done that in a white surrounding. I hope that guy does dont take that litely & press charges on him. He can not do that, because the 2nd guy did not break any law. I would have f… him up.

its pritty worrying to notice how the traffic officers in the Eastern Cape exploit inefficiencies within the Provincial Traffic Department. I personaly had to pay a huge amount of money to repair my car hit by a white man who at the arrival of traffic cops pretended to be a passanger and a wife who was a passanger, now became a driver. both of the drunk, the white traffic officer who removed his name tack, allowed them to leave without being tested for drunk driving. when i asked why he told me point blank’this is Eastern Cape’. Certainly, there are good cops, no doubt, but the few that do not do they job properly, they spoil the rest.

my efforts to get the provincial traffic depatment to look at this issue has been going on for the past _2years without success, and now I am considering my legal options. It seems to me these cops know something that the public do not. they suppose to protect law abiding citizens and promote the law through enforcement, but that is not happenning in the Eastern Cape unfortunately.

Is this not disrespecting officers? I can see a guy with a beer on his left hand trying to take videos with a cellphone. A beer in public….and in front of cops…Eish!!!

ag pleaseee – do you want to create a storm in a tea cup today – what is wrong here??
This is normal – the poor cops work all night – boozers party all night – and the result – a underpaid tired cop meet a boozed-up party animal who wants to “interfere” with his job. Remember a video never tells the full story – what happened before the filming started…?

Good for the cop! It is about time people have respect for the law forcement agencies, maybe our country wouldn’t have the crime it does, if more people were scared of the police!!!

Police behaviour is always different when addressing africans compared to the manner in which they approach whites, the approach is always aggreesive

Drunken unruly crowds. When Law and order is not kept, people are first to complain. So you tell me at 5:00 in the morning after a night of partying and drinking, what do you expect?. I live at the back of numbers and December is upon us, so I would like these cops to come and keep law and order there to. Cars reving, bottles being broken and load music. We have complained to the body cooperate as well as numbers and nothing has been done about it.

these traffic officer derseves what is coming for them. i suffered in 2005 bcoz of them and they are going down one by one i’ll make sure of that

Not condoning excessive force, but this guy walked out of a club at 5am and then claim that he didn’t do anything wrong? Ok, if he says so…, probably didn’t drink anything either…