The Independent Police Investigation Directorate is investigating the actions of members of the Tshwane metro police following the alleged assault of a young woman at a gas station this past week.
Kymie du Toit, 28, a kindergarten teacher, was pulled out of her vehicle late Tuesday and arrested after allegedly failing to stop in a deserted area on the orders of the metro police.
Du Toit drove to a gas station in Moreleta Park, where the incident was recorded on circuit television. She was on her way home after taking care of her children in Centurion. The incident was widely circulated on social media and has attracted great criticism of the metro police.
Du Toit told Rapport she was beaten, kicked and thrown against a cement floor. According to the newspaper, she was also robbed in February by four men who presented themselves as police officers. The police then advised her, should she ever find herself in a similar situation, to tell the police officers that she was aware of them, and then drive slowly to a place where she felt safe.
Du Toit was arrested for allegedly “suspicious” according to one of the police officers. According to the metro police, she also drove around with her for a while before she was taken to a police station.
One of the guidelines in the protocol was that motorists show the police that they understand the command to stop and then drive slowly to a safe place – as Du Toit apparently did in this case.
JPSA chairman Howard Dembovsky says the protocol was developed at the time to help stop the spate of incidents where criminals used blue lights on their vehicles to target unsuspecting motorists.
In this way, the so-called blue-light gangs did anything from armed robberies to hijackings, rapes and murders. Police have struggled to stop this kind of crime.
“Despite this, many police and traffic officials are completely insensitive to the issue and mistakenly believe that the law empowers them to abuse members of the public who seek to protect themselves against violent crime,” Dembovsky said.
Sontago Seisa confirmed that the watchdog organization had received a report on the alleged assault charges against the members of the metro police.
“Our investigation is ongoing and no one has been arrested yet,” Seisa said.
Senior Superintendent. Tshwane Metro Police spokesman Isaac Mahamba said Friday the matter is also being investigated departmentally.
