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Subscribe to RSSEight police officers in South Africa are facing murder charges following the death of a man who died after being tied to the back of a police van. NBCNews.com's Dara Brown reports.
Eight South African police officers have been charged with murder amid outrage over the death of a taxi driver who was dragged along the ground while tied to a police van.
The incident in the Johannesburg area of Daveyton on Tuesday was caught on video by a bystander and the film has since gone viral on YouTube.
Mido Macia, 27, originally from Mozambique, did not die while he was dragged down the street, but was later found dead in his police cell.
Moses Dlamini, of the police investigation unit, said the officers were charged with murder late Friday, The Associated Press reported.
In a statement, South Africa’s President Jacob Zuma said that the “visuals of the incident are horrific, disturbing and unacceptable.”
“No human being should be treated in that manner,” he added.
South Africa's police chief Gen. Riah Phiyega said she shared "the extreme shock and outrage" over the video evidence of abuse of Macia by police officers and said his rights were "violated in the most extreme form,” the AP reported.
Earlier Phiyega told a news conference Friday that the eight officers involved had been suspended and the station commander was going to be removed from duty, Reuters reported.
Reuters and The Associated Press contributed to this report.
Related:
Taxi driver dies after being dragged by South African police van
South Africa uses apartheid-era law to accuse 270 miners of murder
'Murder on a massive scale': Angry fallout from mine shootings
This story was originally published on Fri Mar 1, 2013 5:49 AM EST
Leave a Comment:
Ahh South Africa,one of the few countries that actually has MORE gun violence than the USA.
You mean we are not #1??? Well, let's get off our asses and change this outrageous insult.
StonePipe, GM
Yeah just like Avis, we try harder! LOL
Top of the morning to you Jack. Busy day ahead, wishing I could hang with the usual suspects, but alas, it is not to be. Take care, cool shark story today. Peace.
I like it. The guy gets drug to death for holding up traffic and the cops get suspended. You sure this wasn't New York.
Man, I agree Mary. Shouldn't they be up on murder charges?
My first thoughts were of National Lampoon Vacation with Chevy Chase, the empty leash, Chevy and the cop .
I imagine there are 9 job openings in Texas for these cops. They have the perfect mentality for any state in the South.
You call this journalism? ... O.K., yes, suspended, but what about the prospect of charges, what types and how soon?
So it wasn't be drug around the block that killed him but being beaten to death after he reached the jail?
WTF? Tribal tensions was he a ZULU or something? Maybe a Crip or a Blood.
South Africa was better off under British rule.
Some posters are a Little confused. The man was not dragged to death, he was found dead later in his cell. The officers are being charged with murder.
Raisedbywolves... you certainly were.
Been there and I doubt it.
BigJeff, exactly. The cops have been charged with murder, but the guy they killed (dragged then beaten about the head and torso causing internal bleeding) wasn't guilty of holding up traffic, he'd simply parked in the wrong place, and it wasn't the middle of the road. Amazing the things US media puts out as facts
You mean more gun violence by police I hope. If so, the US is runnin' a tight second place for rampant brutality and violence.
South Africa was a great place to live for everyone when it was under white rule. Much more prosperous and much safer.
Pigs are the same all over.
Sheriff Joe will disput that he doesn't drag just one he has a chain gang to drag!
Hi, I am Pigotry: here is the song for myself on the National Pig Day
Happy Pig Day to me
Happy pig day to me
happy pig day to me,
happy pig day to me.
Hi, I am pigotry
Hummmmmmmm "Torture" seems to be catching on and spreading exponentially ...... since the government of the US supports & condones it! ...
It's not easy to put the cat back in the bag.......
True, but just go to a country in the Middle East and you will find things ten times as bad. They just do it behind closed doors.
Firstly, South Africa was a Dutch colony. Secondly, better off for whom?
PS: I stand corrected. The British did take parts of the country away from the Dutch around 1800. Notwithstanding, better off for whom?
Max 108. From whos point of view. if you lived in all white gated up community more than likely it was ok for you. 35 million did not have that luxury. its a democracy finding its ways.
Max^108, on your pining for aparthide.
When the majority of human beings in a state are disallowed opportunity based upon their skin color, no matter the GDP, the society is bankrupt morally, and repugnant to all intellectually vital human beings.
The economies of Germany and Japan suffered after WW2, as did the economy of the US south after the civil war. Sometimes change is necessarily destructive.
Your comment has no redeeming value.
CC, I certainly was what? Make yourself clear. I flagged that as inflammatory; but I'm not quite sure if I need to report you for a CoH violation.
Let me be clear, I am not cop material anywhere in the world because I'm not a bully with no brains.
Globally, The People are going to be pushed too far, and the resulting revolts will be a bloodbath. Every animal has a breaking point where it, when pushed too far, will turn and attack. People, while not necessarily animals in the strictest sense, still have the pack mentality that becomes deadly dangerous when ignited.
Witness any large crowd incited to violence....soccer matches, street riots, even store mega-sales at christmas.
When 'the pack' feels that it has reached its tolerance for abuse, the backlash will be phenomenal.
Governance and policing can only be effectively accomplished if The People allow it and those who govern and police do so with respect.
"The System" is broken, and The People will eventually fix it the only way possible.
@john----Not gonna happen belive me. Sorry, but you can still hope.
Apocolypse Now! (sarcasm button)
The system aint broken, it never was fixed. We are just seeing and hearing about it due to the digital age. The Masses are asses.
Suspended..... Are you kidding! Why weren't they arrested and thrown in jail?
Isn't this the same country where a famous athlete shoots his girlfriend, the lead cop in the case is facing attempted murder charges from back in 2011 and same athlete's brother is facing charges on the 2010 killing of a female motorcyclist? Talk about some crazy law enforcement and I thought ours was bad.
Common sense?? Nice spellin' there zipperhead. Try reading the article. They were charged with murder. Stupid is as stupid does.
Hank, when you try posting a comment to belittle someone else, it helps if you know how things work on this amazing thing we call "the internet." Note the time that "comon sense" posted: 7:28 a.m. At that time, the story was about the "suspension" of the officers. The story was later updated to reflect they had been charged with murder.
Zipperhead, indeed.
And same as here
if these cops are anything like my neighbor from S. Africa, they are real knuckle draggers....
Your neighbor must be an Afrikaner. Call him a gatis, that is a guttural g..utis
"We would like to assure the country and the world that what is in the video is not how the South African Police Service in a democratic South Africa goes about its work," - they should add - please disregard video evidence to the contrary which shows that this is EXACTLY how the South African Police Service goes about it's work !
While absolutely horrible; the actions of a few aren't necessarily the actions of the mass.
Last year over 720 people died while in police custody in S. Africa. Things that make ya go hmmm
Only thing that has changed since the end of apartheid is who is committing the atrocities.
I don't fear the people in power, I fear the people who fear the people in power. They are more prone to committing or threatening violent acts than the police.
That being said, this kind of thing should not be treated lightly and they should be brought to justice. This applies to the police as well as citizens.
Next time you THINK you need a cop, flip a coin first. I'm happy I won't BE on this planet in another 50 years.
Next time you THINK you need a cop, just get your own gun and take care of business yourself
A lot of things could happen to you in much less than 50 years..
You give up ALL control of YOUR life as soon as one speaks to you. Get used to it, kids.
Remember this is a Black run society, just another American Detroit just on a larger scale. On the plus side, they are famous for their respect for women, educational system, low crime rates, and indoor plumbing - just kidding.
Atelier, you're not kidding. Your racism is leaking out of my computer and stinking up everyone's lives. Yesterday the posts about this horrific story were equally sophmoric. Everyone seems to want to understand in a way that includes the man's race... police brutality, man's inhumanity towards man, it's a mess. But somehow the American 'dream' is that it all happened because someone of a different race was involved.
Yes, just like that shooting in Las Vegas involving the Maserati.
atelier,
You have no idea what you're talking about. They are a very modern society. The first heart transplant in the world was performed in South Africa.
Not agreeing with atelier at all, sam adams - but be careful of the point you make lest you help him make his. Yes, the first heart transplant was performed in S.A. - in 1967 - under white rule. South Africa since the ANC took over has struggled for various reasons - none of them having to do with being "black" - but struggled nonetheless.
atelier, what does race have to do with this? Do you have any proof that somehow, peoples races can be attributed to bad behaviors??
A lot more than the 1st heart transplant was done in Africa. They also had the 1st successful cesarean sections while they had a 100% mortality rate of their attempts in Europe.
Listen to some lectures or read some books by Dr Ivan Van Sertima, Induskhamit Kush, Dr. John Henrik Clarke, Walter Williams, John G. Jackson & Chancellor Williams; Learn some REAL history & don't be a racist idiot your whole life...
They also had 6 nuclear weapons ready and working on the 7th and then the leader that time gave it up voluntarily.
You can only pretend you're a civilized country so long. Then reality will bite you in the ass.
All cops are great until caught on camera
These lousy cops should be ties to a van and dragged to their deaths.
"We would like to assure the country and the world that what is in the video is not how the South African Police Service in a democratic South Africa goes about its work," Commissioner Riah Phiyega told a news conference.
Ah, yes it is.
These so-called officers of the law should be charged with capital murder and if not done then the UN should step in with the same sanctions placed on other nations who violate human rights. The acceptance of evil based on social and political bullying is how Hitler came to power and eventually all the world paid a price.
From the video I'd say the two policemen at the rear of the vehicle were at fault. Those in the cab may have thought the arrestee was secured in the rear compartment. I didn't see them make any attempt to stop the vehicle..
Just a guess, but if the driver thought Macia was secured in the van, I'm pretty sure he'd have heard the cops voices in the van, and the rear doors shut and locked. It never happened that way though. To the cops, it was a big funny joke. ALL are guilty, and 8 are accused, not just the two cops behind the truck.
The police responsible for these actions should be imprisoned in the general population in the jail ... They won't last long .. I suspect that they would be brutalized and dispensed of quickly ... no trial would be necessary ..and the message would be clear to those that promote & participate in this behavior ...
Chuck-295246,
Can't convict people on a guess! Saw a documentary about South Africa's crime problems. There's more well armed private security firms operating there than anywhere else in the world due to their crime problems.
The REAL question here is: Will Peter Gabriel write a song about it?
Jack a$$
No but Ted Nugent will.
Ted's another jackass, but I guess he'll blame his problems on too many drugs back in the day
yep, money and fame still can't buy brains.....
These S. African cops should send their resumes to a city in Texas.
Texas seems to want to reward cops for these types of actions.
I wouldn't be surprised if these cops end up dead.
I wonder what the initial crime was that caused the officers to detain him in the first place. I know South Africa, and that area in particular, is prone to unspeakable violence but yikes! I'm glad they were charged - I can't imagine being bound and drawn like that.
Macia parked in the wrong place and nothing more.
I hope they execute those Police Officers the same way...
Drag them slowly behind a vehicle until they are dead...
Animals !!!!!
You can get rid of Apartheid, but you'll never get rid of hate and racism.
...it is going to take several more generations, but i have hope.....
These cops make Barney Fief look efficient. The truth is, most of them resemble the Keystone Cops more than what the tv shows project.
Your head line for the story would be less inflammatory were you mention that it was South African Cops. But, then you are nbcnews. You have your own agenda.
The headline DOES say it was S. African Cops. Reading is fundamental
They added S.African later. First headline just read "Cops charged..."
Suspended but not arrested ??? That should be criminal.
A common case of the cops being worse than the bad guys. Do the cops send a killer to catch a thief?
No white cops involved there
What does that have to do with anything? Cruelty and stupidity aren't race specific.
It is if you're doc