School raid: pupil lays charge against cop

A Pretoria policeman could find himself in trouble after he allegedly assaulted a Berea Park Independent High School pupil during an unauthorised raid at the school.

It is alleged that the constable, along with members of the Community Police Forum (CPF), stormed the school yard and locked the gates just before the pupils could go home and demanded to search them.

According to school principal Izak Theron, the officers burst through the gates with no search warrant and went straight to the pupils.

“They did not come to the office or approach any of the teachers; they went straight to the learners. I tried to explain to them that the children had to catch their transport as many of them live far, but they did not listen and went ahead with locking the gates,” said Theron.

The problem apparently started when a pupil from another school went to the police station to report that his cellphone had been stolen by a pupil from Berea.

The officers then went to the school to search the pupils for the phone but did not find anything.

Theron said although he was all for regulated searches at the school, he did not appreciate how the officers had behaved on Tuesday. “This was very unruly and unacceptable. I don’t ever want to see it happen again. We have been working with police in the past and never encountered any problems,” said Theron.

According to one of the pupils who found himself at the receiving end of the alleged police brutality, he made a huge mistake of making eye contact with the constable. From that moment on, the Grade 12 pupil apparently found himself at the mercy of the policeman and his colleagues.

“I made eye contact with him while I was going to the toilet and he shouted at me to stop. He came straight to me and grabbed me by my pants. I asked him to let me go, but he said I should keep quiet and started assaulting me,” said Macdonald Kalolo.

The pupil said that as he pleaded with the officer not to hit him, it was as if he was provoking him. “He continued to slap me as I begged him to stop. I even told him that I was going to report him to the police station and he said I could go ahead,” said Kalolo.

The pupil said he was searched but the police did not find the cellphone in question on him. He added that he had opened a case of assault against the constable at the Pretoria Central Police station last night.

The pupil’s mother, who asked not to be named, said she did not appreciate what police did to her son and they would take legal action. She added that she did not understand why her son was assaulted as he did not do anything to warrant the use of force against him.

karabo.seanego@inl.co.za

Pretoria News