Two police officers who allegedly assaulted and wrongfully arrested a Bryanston man will be investigated, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said on Monday.
“We have received the docket regarding the case, and will begin our investigation,” IPID spokesman Moses Dlamini said.
The Star reported on Monday that Ashley Cerqueira was pulled over twice by the Sandton police on May 27, purportedly for possession of dagga.
Closed circuit footage from a nearby home reportedly shows that the officers stopped Cerqueira and searched his car after they initially accused him of drunk driving.
Cerqueira then recorded the officers asking him for a bribe on his cellphone.
When he reached his house, the same officers “trapped” him in his driveway and tried to take his phone away. After he refused, the officers used pepper spray on him.
Footage from his home shows the officers tackling and spraying him.
Even though no drugs were found in Cerqueira's car, the officers produced a bag of dagga at the police station later and claimed that it was his.
The officers also reportedly tried to take Cerqueira's mother's phone after she told them that she was going to record the incident. - Sapa