Reporter traumatised after police ‘harassed’ her
A 27-YEAR-old resident has been left to pick up the pieces, physically and emotionally, after she was confronted by an alleged act of police harassment while home alone on Friday.
Nabeelah Mohedeen, an Athlone News journalist, said at around 5pm 20 police officers arrived at her Brooklyn home, where they demanded entry to her property for reasons she has still not been made aware of.
She said after numerous requests to see a police search warrant, they did not produce one and one of the officers proceeded to try and jump into her yard. She said she also witnessed them damage a new gate worth about R6 000.
Mohedeen, visibly distraught at that stage and waiting for her husband and father to arrive, said she was told by an officer to stop crying.
“I was so scared that I was going to be raped by 20 officers and brutally attacked,” Mohedeen wrote to Community Safety MEC Albert Fritz’s office, requesting help to expedite the investigation.
Police spokesperson Andrè Traut said they were investigating malicious damage to property, and were yet to make an arrest.
Asked about whether the police had a warrant to search the premises, Traut said they were looking into the matter.
“The case number you referred to is currently under investigation after a malicious damage to property case was reported by a 27-year-old female complainant from Brooklyn. No one has been charged as yet and it is too soon to speculate on the merits of the case at this stage,” Traut said.
Fritz’s spokesperson, Cayla Murray, said yesterday that after they had considered the incident report they would write to the provincial police commissioner for intervention, and look into whether it should be referred to the Western Cape police ombudsman.