Man slaps cop in Cape Town court

Cape Town - 090127 - At Khayelitsha's Nonceba Hall on National Police Day there was a meeting to help organize how local organizations could assist the police in dealing with community issues. Photo by Skyler Reid.

Cape Town - 090127 - At Khayelitsha's Nonceba Hall on National Police Day there was a meeting to help organize how local organizations could assist the police in dealing with community issues. Photo by Skyler Reid.

Published Mar 10, 2014

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 Cape Town - A man was arrested for slapping a policeman's face in the Cape Town Magistrate's Court on Monday.

The man, in his 20s, pushed the policeman's chest during an adjournment in Court 14. The policeman warned him to stop his behaviour, but a short while later, he slapped the policeman's face.

The shocked policeman tried to restrain the man, he tried to use a taser to subdue him.

The officer shouted: “That's crimen injuria.”

The packed public gallery watched as the officer grabbed the man and held his arms behind his back.

He was read his rights and led out the courtroom, escorted by additional officers.

Two Cape Town central policemen were about to appear in the court for allegedly kicking and punching a naked man.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) said the warrant officers, aged 42 and 45, were arrested on Friday night.

They faced charged of assault, but other charges could be added, said Ipid spokesman Moses Dlamini.

The Western Cape police suspended the officers on Friday pending an investigation.

“The management of the SA Police Service in the Western Cape were horrified with the video footage that was in circulation in the social media since this (Friday) morning,” Colonel Tembinkosi Kinana said at the time.

A person in a nearby building had used a cellphone to record Nigerian Clement Emekensha being assaulted in a central Cape Town street on Thursday.

The video shows two police officers handcuffing Emekensha, watched by two men wearing neon-yellow city safety unit vests.

One of the policemen is seen removing Emekensha's pants, leaving him exposed in the road. The footage shows the man being punched and kicked in the groin, while his arms are held at his sides.

The shocked voices of others in the building can be heard on the video.

A woman, opens a window and shouts: “Police brutality. That's not how you treat a person. Why are you kicking him? Why are you kicking him?”

One of the policeman is seen wagging his hand at her, before walking towards the building.

Kinana said police management had watched the footage, and confirmed that the police officers were from Cape Town Central police station.

“Their conduct is not in line with the SAPS code of conduct... We as the SAPS in the province condemn the behaviour witnessed in the video in (the) strongest terms.” - Sapa

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