SA Cops arrested for taxi driver’s torture and murder

SA Cops arrested for taxi driver’s torture and  murder
http://www.iol.co.za/news/crime-courts/cops-arrested-for-taxi-driver-s-murder-1.1479341#.UTDiFo6hDFI
March 1 2013 at 04:44pm 
By SAPA
YouTube
The Independent Police Directorate (Ipid) is investigating the death of a man who, according to cellphone footage, was dragged for about 400m behind a police van. Screengrab: YouTube
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 Johannesburg - The eight policemen implicated in the murder of an East Rand taxi driver were arrested on Friday, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate said.

The suspects, two warrant officers and six constables, were arrested at the Benoni police station, spokesman Moses Dlamini said.

All eight would face a murder charge. They were expected to appear in the Daveyton Magistrate's Court on Monday.

"The suspects will remain in custody until they appear in court.  The Ipid is committed to ensuring that the suspects are held accountable and brought before the courts."

Mido Macia, 27, a taxi driver and Mozambican national, was tied to the back of a police van and dragged along a street in Daveyton,  on the East Rand, on Tuesday. An eyewitness filmed the assault. Macia died in the local police station's cells later that day. A post mortem revealed he died of head and internal injuries.

The Congress of SA Trade Unions alleged the police had said that  Macia died after other men attacked him in the police holding cells.

Dlamini said on Thursday that two policemen switched on their siren, indicating that Macia should move his minibus, when they saw  it obstructing traffic in Empilweni Street.

"It is also alleged that the taxi driver then assaulted the constable and took his police firearm. The warrant officer overpowered the taxi driver and handed the firearm back to his colleague," he said.

"When back-up arrived, the constable was still at the scene, struggling to put the suspect in the police van," Dlamini said.

Officers put the "resisting suspect" into the police van and took him to the police cells. In the video, local residents are heard asking policemen what the man had done. Some shout warnings to the policemen, saying their actions were being recorded.

Earlier, Daveyton residents staged a protest outside the local police station, demanding the removal of the officers implicated in  the crime.

Gauteng premier Nomvula Mokonyane and other government officials  visited Macia's home in Daveyton.

On Thursday, President Jacob Zuma condemned the incident.

National police commissioner Riah Phiyega said the eight police officers had been suspended.

The Daveyton police station commander was also removed from his post.

"From the video, which has gone viral, it is obvious that the rights of Mido Macia were violated in the most extreme form," she said.

"We are... outraged with what happened."

Phiyega said they were conducting their own investigations. She urged eyewitnesses to come forward with information. - Sapa

SA Taxi Driver Tortured And Murdered By Police
Phiyega suspends police officers in taxi driver video
http://mg.co.za/article/2013-03-01-phiyega-suspends-police-officers-in-t...
01 MAR 2013 10:27 - SAPA

The police officers seen dragging a Daveyton taxi driver behind a police van have been suspended, says National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega.

• Amateur video brings police torture to light
• Taxi driver killed after alleged police brutality

• Second autopsy considered for Daveyton taxi driver

"I have also instructed that the officers involved be disarmed," she said during a media briefing in Pretoria on Friday.

"We are also removing the current station commander of Daveyton police station from his position, so that investigations can proceed uninhibited," she said. "We are equally outraged with what happened."

Mido Macia (27), a taxi driver and Mozambican national, was tied to the back of a police van and dragged along the street in Daveyton, on the East Rand, on Tuesday. An eyewitness filmed the assault.

Macia died in the local police station's cells later that day. The incident has been widely condemned, with several organisations and opposition parties attributing it to brutality and a lack of discipline in the South African Police Service.

Government also condemned the violence on Friday. "Government expresses its deepest condolences to the victim's family, friends and community," spokesperson Phumla Williams said in a statement.

"No acts of abuse and crime will be tolerated in our country. We are confident that Independent Police Investigative Directorate will conduct an independent and impartial investigation, and that the wheels of justice will turn in all abuse and criminal cases."

'Dealt with accordingly'
Williams said the government assured South Africans that police subscribed to a code of conduct.

"If South African Police Service officials are found to be in violation of the code of conduct, they will be dealt with accordingly."

The Congress of South African Trade Unions, the Congress of the People, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union, the Democratic Alliance, Amnesty International and the Council for the Advancement of the South African Constitution have also condemned the incident. – Sapa