Police brutality leads to man's death

[Pints]

A man has died in police custody in South Africa after being dragged - while handcuffed - behind a police van.

Police are alleging the man disarmed one of the police officers during an altercation - a claim which is rejected by witnesses - only to be overpowered and then handcuffed to the vehicle

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-21615593

[Dogwatch]

Pints said:

A man has died in police custody in South Africa after being dragged - while handcuffed - behind a police van.

I understood that it was the beating afterwards that killed him - not due to being dragged along by a police van, though that is disgraceful in itself.

[Mermaid]

Tragic for the man & for the country

[Pints]

Whatever they did to him, it was enough for him to have died from "head injuries and internal bleeding".

[Badgerboy]

I knew SA had issues, but it really has gone to fk in recent times.

[Dino D]

Badgerboy said:

I knew SA had issues, but it really has gone to fk in recent times.

In recent times?
Not to detract from the suffering of this person but this is tame conpared to what went on not so long ago. Very tame.

[Billyray911]

On the C4 news,his sister mentioned that his body has now been 'lost' as well.
Probably,well cremated by now...

[Pints]

Dino D said:

Badgerboy said:

I knew SA had issues, but it really has gone to fk in recent times.

In recent times?
Not to detract from the suffering of this person but this is tame conpared to what went on not so long ago. Very tame.

To what are you comparing this to call it tame?

[simoid]

Pints said:

Dino D said:

Badgerboy said:

I knew SA had issues, but it really has gone to fk in recent times.

In recent times?
Not to detract from the suffering of this person but this is tame conpared to what went on not so long ago. Very tame.

To what are you comparing this to call it tame?

Police shooting dead a few dozen miners... tame too?

[Pints]

simoid said:

Police shooting dead a few dozen miners... tame too?

I don't know if that's classed as tame by Dino's standards.
I think this is more horrific than the Marikana shooting.

[Vipers]

For a parking offence, Jesus.

Now I wonder if anybodies head will roll.

[Pints]

I feel certain that the fact the deceased was Mozambican didn't help him. There's an enormous anti-foreigner sentiment held by many.

[Digga]

simoid said:

Police shooting dead a few dozen miners... tame too?

I have to say, if you're informed purely by the (extraordinarily poor) BBC content, I can understand that one-sided view. But coverage from other sources gave a far less black & white picture of that particualr incident. (If you refer to the recent shooting.)

[greygoose]

It hasn't been a good couple of weeks for South Africa, must be having an effect on their tourist industry.

[simoid]

Digga said:

simoid said:

Police shooting dead a few dozen miners... tame too?

I have to say, if you're informed purely by the (extraordinarily poor) BBC content, I can understand that one-sided view. But coverage from other sources gave a far less black & white picture of that particualr incident. (If you refer to the recent shooting.)

So... some say the dozens of miners deserved to die?

[Dino D]

The use of the word tame may not be the best and I used it in a comparitive sense to even more gruesome police brutality that took place (and looks like it still does). There really is nothing tame about it but SA is a place of such gruesome crime that one gets numbed and I see I still seem to have that numbness..

My comment was In response to a post saying 'in recent' years it has gotten bad in SA. My point is to say that this event, as gruesome as it is, is a type of event that occurred often and even more extreme methods of torture were routinely used by the police. Reports of people dragged miles not yards were not unusual (if it ever made it to the press).

It's not just in recent years-it has been violent for a very long time.

No offence intended and certainly no belittlement of what happened to this person-reading back I can see how it may give that impression.

[Puggit]

8 police officers arrested on suspicion of murder. I guess this is going to be too hard to cover up.

[Digga]

simoid said:

Digga said:

simoid said:

Police shooting dead a few dozen miners... tame too?

I have to say, if you're informed purely by the (extraordinarily poor) BBC content, I can understand that one-sided view. But coverage from other sources gave a far less black & white picture of that particualr incident. (If you refer to the recent shooting.)

So... some say the dozens of miners deserved to die?

Not at all, but the BBC footage omits a few salient points;

1. Police officers at the strike had been machetted to death on the previous day
2. The video coverage (still on web) showed police firing into the ground to try to stop the advance and miners walking onto the line of fire
3. local (black) commentators on SA media noting that the strike was not official/legal and was motivated by political power struggle

Was an horrendous incident, but my point is that the wider facts painted a very, very different picture from the BBC's 'flat' "police shoot miners" reporting.

[Jasandjules]

What the? They dragged a cuffed man behind the van?!?! I hope they go to jail for that.

[Mermaid]

Jasandjules said:

What the? They dragged a cuffed man behind the van?!?! I hope they go to jail for that.

I'd just cuff then all behind the same van and drive around for a few days - that would send a strong message to the guys imposing the law.