High court orders cops to pay R250 000 in damages

Accused thought police officers were joking... until he was punched in the face

PRETORIA: It was a case of a drunken prank gone horribly wrong for two teens in 2008 when one of them shot a paintball at a police station in Marble Hall, apparently hitting a policeman on the chest.

They were arrested and detained on an array of charges, including attempted murder and high treason.

Daniel de Klerk, who was 18 at the time of the incident, was claiming R800 000 damages from the police, saying he had been severely assaulted while in custody and had been denied medical assistance.

A family member, who was 17 years old at the time, was arrested with him and was claiming R300 000 for unlawful arrest. The family member, who was a passenger in the car when De Klerk fired the paintball, cannot be identified as he was under 18 at the time.

Acting Judge in the Pretoria High Court W F Pienaar ordered that the police should pay de Klerk R170 000 damages and the teen is set to receive R80 000 in damages.

The court heard that at about midnight on January 25, 2008, De Klerk, together with his passenger, was driving past the police station when he decided to fire several shots with his paintball gun at the station before speeding off.

He took his family member home but, on his way to his house, he was stopped by two members of the police, who immediately arrested him. He was taken to the police station, where he was charged with high treason, assault, pointing of a firearm and malicious damage to property.

The assault charge was later changed to attempted murder after one of the officers claimed he was hit on the arm by a paintball.

In the early hours of the morning the other teenager’s father was told to take his son to the police station where he was arrested and detained for about eight hours.

All the charges, bar the malicious damage to property, were eventually withdrawn against De Klerk. He had to undergo a series of rehabilitative programmes after which that charge was also dropped.

The other teenager was cleared of all charges.

De Klerk testified he and the other teenager were at a party on the night of the incident. On the way back he took his number plates off the car and switched off the lights. He then drove past the police station and De Klerk pelted it with his paintball gun through the open car window, before dropping off the teenager at his home.

The two of them laughed at the time, thinking it was a huge joke. De Klerk said even shortly after his arrest he still did not take the charges seriously. He still laughed after one of the officers claimed he was hit by a paintball.

The joke ended when the officer came to his cell and punched him in the face. He also cuffed him so tightly that blood flow to his hands was cut-off, he claimed. He was then hit over the shoulders and on the head with a club.

De Klerk said he shouted for help, but nobody came to his assistance. According to him, the officer told the other inmates to assault him, but he pleaded with them not to. He later told the investigating officer that he was assaulted and needed medical assistance, but this was not forthcoming.

Although the police in court denied De Klerk was assaulted, they could not explain how he had suffered his injuries, which were confirmed by a doctor.

The other teen said he was locked-up for eight hours with an adult inmate in a cell.

Acting Judge Pienaar said De Klerk’s conduct had been childish, but it did not warrant the treatment he received at the hands of the police. He was assaulted and denied medical help.

The other teen, the judge said, was also subjected to a traumatic time in the police cell, although he had merely been a passenger in the car. The judge described the conduct of the police as reprehensible.

The 17-year-old was punished by his school with his leadership badge temporarily taken away from him. He was also barred from playing rugby for some time, which was very traumatic for him as he had wanted to become a professional rugby player.