Video of the weekend incident shows officers, some with rifles, dragging the guy down the road, then kicking and stomping on his head and body. The guy appears to have lost consciousness of the kick and remains motionless on his back after the attack. Officials are also seen kicking a guy, who holds his hands over his head for protection.
The police cover unit is known in South Africa as the “Blue Light Squad” and has a reputation for using force unnecessarily. The unit has been known to drive fast on roads and react strongly if other drivers do not immediately recognize the small blue lighting devices and sirens in their cars and drive away.
Mashatile’s workplace said in a statement that the incident occurred in Johannesburg over the weekend, adding that he “abhors any unnecessary use of force, i. e. opposing unarmed civilians. “
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It is unclear whether Mashatile was part of a convoy of cars driving on the road before the incident.
The video was recorded by someone in another car who was not involved in the incident and was posted on Twitter.
After the incident, the officers, who are part of the committed police unit tasked with protecting South African politicians and other prominent figures, get into two black vans and drive off.
The video shows a third man who also lied on the side of the road afterward. It is not known if he was also beaten. A woguy is seen getting out of the car and holding his hands over his head over the incident.
At least seven police officers, some dressed in suits, were concerned and the video shows at least 3 of them kicking and trampling the two men. .
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Amid an uproar, national police spokeswoman Athlenda Mathe said in a statement that the officials were known “and will be subject to internal procedures. “
Police also “successfully tracked down the victims of this incident,” Mashe said, and they were questioned.
Mathe also posted the 45-second video on her Twitter account. She wrote in an earlier tweet that “police officers intend to preserve the basic rights of each and every person. . . Such behavior cannot be tolerated. “
The Mashatile workplace said the South African National Police Commissioner had “promised a thorough investigation”.
It is known what led to the incident as the car had already stopped when the video begins.
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South Africa has a challenge with police brutality, with the most infamous recent incident in 2012 when 34 miners were killed when police shot them with attack rifles in a strike over wages and conditions. In another high-profile incident in 2020 that drew national attention, a guy was beaten to death in his home by foot soldiers in front of police.
The independent police misconduct framework investigated 3,407 cases of unlawful attacks through officials in the 2021-2022 fiscal year, a rate of nearly 10 per day.