Cruel and unusual
CARMEL RICKARD: Why do police escape financial penalty for shocking abuse?
A woman is claiming more than R2m in damages after being subjected to horrifying treatment from the police. It sticks in the gut that the police responsible escape any financial penalty
The war of attrition against taxpayers continues, this week via the case of police who arrested and unlawfully detained "NM". Police sexually harassed the woman to the point where she began menstruating in shock. They then refused her any means of cleaning herself while they kept her in filthy cells for two nights. A significant legal bill will result from this initial hearing that established her detention as unlawful, with two additional bills to come: a further hearing must decide the damages she should be awarded — her claim is for over R2m — and that hearing will also generate legal costs. No-one would deny NM damages for such a terrifying, humiliating experience, but it sticks in the gut that the police responsible escape any financial penalty. Another worrying problem is highlighted in this week’s judgment, namely that the legal teams on both sides were hopeless.
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