Despite residents of Laudium and Erasmia often complaining of police misconduct, the respective CPFs, who are meant to be the voice of the community, seem not to be interested in addressing the complaints of the community.
This follows the Laudium Sun receiving a complaint from an Erasmia resident who claimed that Erasmia Police extorted money from an elderly woman for employing an undocumented foreigner.
The resident, who did not want to be named, added that when the family of the woman refused to give the money, the Police then arrested the 70-year old woman by placing her at the back of the Police van and detained her at the Police Station, only to release her later after the family eventually paid the R10k demanded.
The resident said that when he called the chair of the Erasmia CPF, Pritesh Bhana, to complain and to intervene so that Police could give the woman a fine or issue a summons to appear in court instead of demanding a bribe, he was apparently told by Pritesh, “You guys should stop employing foreigners.”
In another complaint the Laudium Sun received, a Laudium resident, Anver Ismail from Emerald Street, alleged that he was harassed by a Laudium Police sergeant, Samuel Ledwaba, at the Jewel Street/1st Ave robot near the Engen garage recently. Anver claims that he was arrested at around 7am at the scene for allegedly failing to obey the traffic light and was subsequently taken to the Laudium Police Station, where he claims he was harassed and neglected for approximately an hour.
Shaida Ismail of Brown Street, Laudium and the mother of Anver Ismail, told the Laudium Sun, “I am extremely disappointed and upset about what happened to my son. I was informed by my son that Sgt Ledwaba from the Laudium Police Station stopped him at the Jewel Str robot, near the Engen garage, for skipping the robot. But my son told me that he explained to the officer that he was unsure whether the traffic light was working properly, as it had been faulty many times and it was taking extra-long for the robot to turn green. When he crossed the intersection, the cop pulled him over and told him that he was being arrested for skipping a red robot. My son said that he immediately apologised and explained to the cop that the traffic light sometimes works and sometimes does not work and that he was not trying to deliberately break the law. But, despite this, the officer told him to get out of his vehicle and my son was then arrested, placed inside the police vehicle and taken to the Laudium Police Station on that Friday morning. My son called me and I immediately went to the Police Station. When I arrived, I asked the Sgt why my son had been arrested. He told me that he needed to arrest my son and that he needed to appear in court. I asked the Sgt why it was necessary to arrest my son over allegedly skipping a red robot, even after my son had explained the circumstances. I asked whether the matter could not result in a fine or warning to appear in court at a later date, seeing that it was a Friday. The Sgt then rudely told me that I should leave him to do his job. I remained very concerned about my son and what was happening to him. My son was left sitting at the Police cell for approximately an hour, from around 7.30am until 8.30am. During that time, the Sgt left the station to attend to an accident on Emerald Street, while my son remained at the Police Station. After waiting for longer than an hour, my son was eventually told that he could leave. I feel that the way my son was treated was unnecessary and amounted to harassment. He was on his way to work when this incident happened, which has now caused him unnecessary stress and embarrassment. I understand that Police officers have a duty to enforce the law, but I also believe that there should also be fairness and proper communication when dealing with members of the public. What disappoints me even more is that we often hear about serious crime issues facing our community, including people selling drugs and stolen goods, yet my son was dealt with so quickly over a traffic light incident. I am deeply disappointed by what happened and the way my son was treated. I want an explanation from the Laudium Police and the CPF as to why my son was arrested and taken to the station over an alleged traffic offence.”
Monaisha Bunting of Emerald Street, Laudium, told the Laudium Sun, “I witnessed the driver, whom I later learnt was Anver, being arrested by the Laudium SAPS after allegedly going through a traffic light/robot. What shocked me was the urgency with which the Police dealt with this situation. He was not threatening anyone, causing a disturbance, or putting people in danger. Yet he was arrested. Of course, traffic laws matter and nobody is saying that people should be allowed to ignore the law. But surely context, proportionality and common sense must matter too. What concerns me is the bigger picture. While our community is facing serious problems such as drug dealing, GBV, theft, violence and crime, our Police are more focused on arresting people allegedly involved in traffic offences. There are families living in fear. There are young people being exposed to drugs. Women and children are suffering from gender based violence. Residents are crying out for visible policing and protection. Yet we find SAPS members move with such determination over what appears to be a relatively minor traffic incident. Where is that same urgency when residents report drugs being sold in our neighbourhoods? Where is that urgency when people report GBV? Where is that urgency when criminals are making communities unsafe? Our communities need protection. Our families need protection. Our children need protection. Please, let’s get our priorities right.”
*The Laudium Sun tried to get a comment from the Laudium Police Station Commander and Sergeant Ledwaba, but without success.
