S. African police violence sparks outrage
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- NEW: The officers, who had been disarmed and suspended, are now arrested
- Video shows a man dragged from the back of a police van
- The man later died of head injuries
- "We want stern action" taken against those involved, police minister says
-- South African authorities
Friday arrested eight police officers accused of being involved in
dragging a man down a road while he was handcuffed to the back of a
police van.
Crowds chased after the van as the man kicked and writhed. He later died.
The incident was captured on video, sparking outrage in a nation that has seen a series of police brutality incidents recently.
The country's Independent
Police Investigation Directorate on Friday arrested the officers, who
earlier had been disarmed and suspended, said Zweli Mnisi, spokesman for
police ministry.
Tough action will be
taken against those involved, the nation's acting police minister said,
calling for a speedy independent investigation.
"We view this incident in
serious light. We want stern action so that it may send a message to
other officers that any untoward conduct will not be tolerated," State
Security Minister Siyabonga Cwele said.
Man dragged by police dies in custody
Man dragged by police dies in custody
It was unclear how many
officers are involved in the incident. The commander of the local police
station was also suspended pending an investigation, the South African Police Service said in a statement.
The video was captured by cell phone in Daveyton, near Johannesburg, shocking the world for its brazen cruelty.
Shaky but clear, it shows a man in a red T-shirt and white sneakers talking animatedly with police officers.
The officers then
handcuff him to the back of a police van, which pulls away, dragging his
feet along the road. Officers and bystanders run alongside.
Some in the crowd scream as the van drives away slowly, then picks up speed.
The man, identified as a
Mozambican taxi driver, died Tuesday night, a few hours after the
incident, in a police cell from his head injuries, according to Amnesty International.
"We are shocked by this
incident," said Moses Dlamini, a spokesman for the Police Investigative
Directorate, an independent government agency that looks into possible
crimes by police.
Violent crime is common in South Africa, but the incident was a harsh reminder of police brutality rampant in the nation.
The directorate received
720 new cases for investigation of suspicious deaths in custody or in
other policing contexts between April 2011 and March 2012, Amnesty said.
"This appalling incident
involving excessive force is the latest in an increasingly disturbing
pattern of brutal police conduct in South Africa," said Noel Kututwa,
Amnesty International's southern Africa director.
Police who carry out crimes do not reflect the police service as a whole, Dlamini said.
"There are many other officers who are dedicated, who uphold the law and arrest criminals all the time," he said.
Under apartheid rule in
South Africa, white police officers subjected the nation's black
majority to inhumane treatment. But in this case, the man and police in
the video, as well as those in the crowd, are black.
Apartheid rule ended in the 1990s, and the government reformed the police departments and made them more diverse.
Despite the changes, the
nation grapples with a high crime rate, including rapes, armed
robberies and police brutality, analysts say.
South Africa's history
of violence "is part and parcel of daily life," said Johan Burger, a
senior researcher with the Institute for Security Studies in Pretoria.
Some police officers believe that they "are above the law" and that there won't be consequences for their actions, he said.
South Africa's police force has been plagued by a series of scandals recently.
In August, officers
opened fire on striking platinum miners in Marikana, killing 34 in one
of the most deadly police shootings since the end of apartheid.
Last month, one of its officers -- Hilton Botha -- was booted from a high-profile murder case after prosecutors reinstated attempted murder charges against him.
Botha is accused of
chasing and firing on a minibus full of people while drunk in 2011. He
is charged with seven counts of attempted murder.
He was testifying in the
trial of Paralympic star Oscar Pistorius, who is charged with killing
his girlfriend on Valentine's Day.
In the case of the taxi driver, the independent investigative agency pledged to be transparent in its findings.
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