'I've lost respect for cops'

This letter appeared at News24.co.za

h/t Black Coffee

by Linds 2010-07-16 07:39

Dear Editor,

While everyone is congratulating SAPS for their good showing during the World Cup, I’ve lost all the respect I had for the police service. On Tuesday afternoon my wife drove to Pretoria Central police station after a friend of hers had been arrested.

The friend was actually one of the victims of a crime but the police arrested her instead of the criminal. All my wife wanted to know was the nature of the charges and if it was procedural to detain a person without any evidence linking them to a crime.

Warrant Officer Moseki was extremely arrogant and rude. He said my wife was asking too many questions and instructed her to get out of his office. She then asked him if he knew about the Batho Pele principles.

Moseki got angry and said my wife thought she was clever, and he is going to lock her up so everyone can see who is clever. He then charged her with Interfering with the Administration of Justice, handcuffed her and sent her into a police cell. He released my wife’s friend because it was clear she was a victim and not suspect.

We immediately hired two attorneys to try and get her released. They both failed. The extraordinarily arrogant Moseki decided to go home with the docket and left a strict instruction to his colleagues that they must not do anything about this case until he comes back.

At 22:00 we lost hope and went home. My wife (an opinionated researcher with a Masters degree in public health) spent the night in a cold police cell, sleeping on the floor with filthy and smelly blankets.

Yesterday morning she was taken to court, where our attorneys spoke to the prosecutor before court started. The prosecutor said the charge was ridiculous and even if it had merit, they were supposed to release her on police bail and give her a court date. The charge was dropped and she was then released without appearing in court.

Within the next week our attorneys will be filing papers in the high court to sue the state. We’re also taking other measures to ensure that action is taken against Moseki. I’ll pursue this matter right to the very end, even if it means spending every cent I have. This kind of abuse of power cannot and should not be tolerated.

Linds