[imagesource: Twitter / @Abramjee]

“You are the police, what the f*ck are you doing?” shouts a witness as two policemen repeatedly strike a man while he was on the ground.

A video showing the alleged police brutality has been doing the rounds on social media, forcing the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) to probe the matter.

IOL reports that the man had called the officers to report a missing person (his girlfriend) when the cops started beating him outside a house in Emerald Crescent, Fish Hoek.

The witness said the policemen hit the man until he “went to the floor then carried on beating him with batons even when he was down”:

Police officers in Fish Hoek, WC,
assaulting a man. He apparently called the @SAPoliceService to assist in reporting a man missing. @IPID_ZA pic.twitter.com/TiK2lUSxc1

— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) August 14, 2022

The Fish Hoek Community Forum released a statement about the incident on Facebook:

IPID also released a brief statement:

Thank you for the notification.IPID Communication unit has been notified of the Assault and the video by a member of the public. The matter was escalated to IPID Western Cape & they are looking into the matter. The office will provide feedback as soon as they complete their work. https://t.co/swz3ahy2LC

— Independent Police Investigative Directorate(IPID) (@IPID_ZA) August 14, 2022

SAPS stated that it would be looking into the matter:

The management of the SAPS in the Western Cape has appointed a senior police official located at the district level to institute an investigation in terms of the SAPS disciplinary code into the conduct of two police officials captured in a video involved in an altercation with a member of the public.

While criminal investigations into the conduct of SAPS members fall within the ambit of the IPID, the SAPS internal investigation will focus on whether the members had flouted any disciplinary prescripts that relate to the conduct of police members.

The man on the receiving end of the blows was reportedly referred to a medical facility for treatment.

The Sowetan is now reporting that a counterclaim has been opened by one of the officers:

While a complaint of assault was lodged by the man against the officers, one of the two law enforcement officials seen in the widely shared video opened a case of assault against him, Western Cape police spokesperson Brig Novela Potelwa said.

SAPS management has asked that “space be given for investigations into the incident to unfold”.

When the internal probe is completed, the outcome will be made known.

[sources:iol&sowetan]