Cape Town - A mom of ten said a racist cop assaulted her and threw her in jail after she tried to help her sickly neighbour whose house was being raided.
Still covered in bruises, an emotional Tanith Damons spoke with horror about the day an act of kindness earned her nothing but pain.
The qualified Mitchells Plain chef, 40, said on May 3, she rushed to help her 65-year-old neighbour, Wilhelmina Christians, whose home in Hengelaar Street in Beacon Valley was being searched.
When she arrived she found two cops in a police van outside.
Tanith told the Daily Voice: “The old woman came out and when she saw the police and the guns she collapsed.
“I asked them if I can assist her because she has a heart condition. The cop then told me, ‘You malawu, you coloured, you like to talk too much’.
“He took out his pepper spray and I covered my face with my arm.”
Tanith said she took out her cellphone and started taking photos of the cop.
“He punched me and my phone fell under the car. Then both police officers began to attack me,” she said.
Breaking down in tears, she added: “Three of them pulled me into the van like I am an animal, and I had an asthma attack.
“I was breathing heavily and I coughed and when I came to the police station I asked the cop for my pump and he replied, ‘You must ask your coloured community.’”
Tanith spent a night in the cells after being charged with intimidation and assault.
“I’ve never been in jail and all I wanted to do was help someone in need,” she cried.
Tanith was released the next day and immediately laid a charge against the cops.
Moses Dlamini, the spokesperson for Independent Police Investigative Directorate, confirms a case of assault has been opened against the officers.
Dlamini said: “It is alleged the complainant saw the police searching a house next door and put an old women at the back of the van.
“The complainant took photos, as a consequence the police pepper sprayed her.”
Daily Voice