‘I thought they were going to kill him’
VW car parts theft accused describe alleged assault during arrest
A brutal assault, allegedly at the hands of the police, left a young Uitenhage father with a burst eardrum, with his friends so frightened that some of them urinated in their pants during the incident.
The terrifying events which unfolded as five men were arrested in the town in connection with the theft of car parts from Volkswagen SA has prompted a lawyer to pursue civil action against the police on their behalf.
He is in the process of gathering evidence to report the matter to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
Medical and psychological reports have been obtained and a case of assault was reported by the alleged victim, Raul Damons, 27, at the Uitenhage police station last week.
Barnard Weymeyer, 23, Damons, Steve Klassen, 30, Larry Gouws, 32, and Bulelani Ngesi, 30, face a charge of theft totalling R1.8m.
They are all out on bail. While Weymeyer, a mechanic, as well as Klassen, Gouws and Ngesi, all from Uitenhage, were not physically harmed apart from bruises on their wrists due to the cable ties being too tight, Damons was allegedly assaulted so badly that he sustained swelling to the back of his head and a burst eardrum.
He still battles to hear in his right ear and said he had become reliant on painkillers.
Describing what he had witnessed, Weymeyer said that with every kick, Damons’s eyes rolled back and he eventually started vomiting.
“I just cried and cried,” Weymeyer said.
“I thought they were going to kill him.
“I was so scared that I peed in my pants.
“I looked around me and some of the other guys had urinated as well.”
Weymeyer claimed that each time he begged the police to stop assaulting his friend, they allegedly threatened to do the same to him.
“They said I must watch what they are doing, they will do the same to us.
“They wanted to spray pepper-spray in my face,” he further alleged.
The dramatic arrests by members of the Port Elizabeth Flying Squad and vehicle crime investigation unit took place at Weymeyer’s vehicle repair shop in Market Street on the morning of February 15.
About 10 officials were present, some not in uniform and believed to be members of a private security company.
Police spokesperson Captain Gerda Swart confirmed a case of assault was under investigation. Weymeyer, who started out doing vehicle repairs from his backyard in Uitenhage, had opened his workshop a week before the arrests, after saving enough money from a two-year work stint in the US.
He returned to SA in November.
Weymeyer said Damons, a second-hand car dealer, was a friend and regular customer.
Ngesi worked for Damons as a handyman.
He said Klassen and Gouws had been at the workshop at the time to deliver a part for a vehicle Weymeyer had been working on.
Minutes after their arrival at the premises, they were all arrested.
Weymeyer’s father was also present but, when he tried to intervene, was allegedly sworn at and threatened with arrest.
“Our hands were cuffed behind our backs,” Damons said.
“We were taken inside the shop and made to line up against the wall.”
He said the alleged assault started almost immediately.
He claimed he was called the k-word as several armed of
ficers kicked and hit him.
“My hands were cuffed behind my back so I could not shield the blows.”
Damons and Weymeyer allege that the police officers had removed their name badges and refused to identify themselves.
Defence attorney Danie Gouws has since been able to identify five of them and said that he had photographs of the official vehicles involved.
Damons said a woman in civilian clothing had screamed profanities at him and allegedly tried to strangle him.
“I asked them if they had a search warrant but they said I’ve been watching too many movies,” he said.
“They called me a dom [dumb] k **** r.
“At one stage, I passed out. “Blood was coming out of my ear.
“I remember looking up as I gained consciousness and saw tears streaming down Barnard’s face.”
The men were eventually taken to the Uitenhage police station, where the cable ties were removed.
There, the police officers on duty were extremely professional and even offered Damons pain medication, they said.
“They gave me something to clean up the blood and vomit.
“I must say they were all pretty decent towards us,” Damons said.
Damons’s mother, Katie, 60, said tearfully that someone in Uitenhage had phoned her to inform her of her son’s arrest.
“I was so upset. I was in complete shock,” Katie said.
She said she rushed to the police station and when she was eventually allowed to see her son, his entire face was swollen and he was vomiting profusely.
“I couldn’t sleep that night, I was so worried he wouldn’t make it,” she said.
Weymeyer said apart from the emotional trauma he had suffered — the after-effects of which he continued to experience, he worried that his business would suffer because people now presumed he was a thief.
On witnessing the arrests, Weymeyer’s father had immediately contacted Gouws, who rushed to the scene. His father was not available for comment at the time of writing the article.
After spending that weekend in custody, the men appeared in the Uitenhage Magistrate’s Court on February 17 and were released on bail.
“We immediately obtained medical reports and my clients are seeing psychologists,” Gouws said.
“We are now finalising these reports.
“My clients need to go for one more session with the psychologist and once all statements have been obtained, we will refer the matter to Ipid.
“In the meantime, my office is preparing a civil claim against the police.
“I am horrified by the manner in which they were treated.”
The men face a charge of possession of suspected stolen property after two crates containing 60 VW Polo GTI headlights worth more than R1.8m were allegedly found in a vehicle parked on the premises and confiscated.
They are due back in court on Friday.