JMPD completes investigation into Douglasdale video
28 July 2019
I have recently been informed of the outcome of the investigation into the circumstances behind the viral video of a woman being restrained by Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department (JMPD) officer while a nurse prepares to draw blood from the person.
Despite no formal complaint being received against any of the officers involved, I immediately instructed an internal investigation into what had transpired before, during and after the part of the incident which was captured on video, ensuring our residents that any wrongdoing would be acted upon.
Although we do indeed recognise that the video in itself is disturbing, the findings of the investigation do not paint a similar picture. In an effort to combat drunken driving, we could not succeed if we did not enforce and uphold law and order. This, at times, also means compelling persons to follow a lawful instruction, ultimately, for the protection of all residents.
From our internal investigation it was found that the JMPD officers involved had acted within the course and scope of their duties. There will, therefore, be no disciplinary actions taken unless any further evidence contradicting these findings come forward.
The investigation revealed the following:
1. On the 5th of July 2019, a joint operation by JMPD and the Douglasdale SAPS in the form of a road block was approved focusing on, amongst the others; crime prevention, visible policing and drunk driving. The operation was set to commence from 21:00 on 5 July to 04:00 on 6 July.
2. Soon after the setting up of the road block, a female driver in a silver vehicle was stopped by one of the female JMPD officers. After initial assessment by the JMPD officer, the driver was requested to be breathalysed.
3. After the JMPD officer explained the process to the driver, the driver co-operated with the breathalyser test, which showed the driver was over the legally allowed limit. This meant she was driving under the influence of alcohol.
4. The driver was then informed by the JMPD officer that she would be taken to the nearest police station, being the Douglasdale SAPS, for further processing.
5. The driver was then driven in a JMPD patrol vehicle to Douglasdale SAPS. During the voyage, the driver began to telephone people to assist her.
6. On arrival at the Douglasdale SAPS, the driver was taken to a suitable facility where a nursing sister was on duty to assist with drawing blood. The driver became emotional and refused to co-operate.
7. Shortly after, two males arrived at the police station, identifying themselves as the boyfriend of the driver and a friend. The two friends initially tried to reason with the driver to cooperate but were not successful, they were at that stage asked to leave the room.
8. One of the senior SAPS officers noted that one of the male friends was carrying a firearm and removed the firearm from him for safety reasons.
9. More than an hour of attempting to get the driver to co-operate and after the explanation by the nursing sister of the procedure of drawing a blood sample, the driver still refused to co-operate.
10. The JMPD officer, in complying with relevant laws, in particular Section 64F of the South African Police Services Act of 1995, Section 36 of the Criminal Procedures Act of 1977 and Section 65 of the National Road Traffic Act of 1996 which it is stipulated that, “No person shall refuse that a specimen of blood, or a specimen of breath, be taken of him or her”, had no other alternative but to use appropriate and minimal force to restraint the driver so the nursing sister could withdraw the blood sample.
11. The restraining was necessary for the police officers to perform their duty and also to ensure the safety of those in the room as well as the driver’s own safety while the nurse withdraws blood.
12. After the blood sample was drawn, the driver became calm and even signed off the relevant documentation to acknowledge the procedure.
13. The driver was then detained and a criminal docket opened against her for driving under the influence of alcohol.
14. Neither the driver nor any person sustained any injuries during the process.
15. To date, JMPD have not yet received any formal complaints against the officers involved in this incident.
There have been unconfirmed reports that criminal charges have been provisionally withdrawn against the driver for reasons unknown to us. However we will be following up with the National Prosecuting Authority to ascertain why charges were withdrawn. It is also for this reason that we are unable to divulge any other details as the charges could be re-instated and the driver would be or is still subject to a criminal investigation.
It is important that we understand the serious danger any drunk driver poses to society. According to the WHO's Global Status report on Road Safety for 2015, South Africa is one of the most dangerous countries in the world for road accidents with 25.1 deaths per 100,000 people every year. Shockingly, nearly 6 out of every 10 fatalities (58 percent) on South Africa's roads can be attributed to alcohol consumption.
When compared to other countries with much larger populations (USA at 31%, India at 5% and China at 4% of the road fatalities).
As revealed in the monthly JMPD performance statistics, over the months of April to June, JMPD arrested 2 432 drunk drivers across the City of Johannesburg. If let to roam the roads of Joburg, these drunk drivers could be a serious danger to other innocent road users and even themselves.
As an accountable and responsible government, we will not hesitate to take action against our own when laws have been broken or any unbecoming conduct is committed. Similarly, we will not back down in the face of criminality and will support our JMPD officers to perform their duties without bias or fear.
I encourage residents to assist our JMPD officers by refraining from drinking and driving and by discouraging friends and family from driving while under the influence or to get into a car of a drunk driver. We need to spread the message that drunk driving kills and rips families apart. Together, we will remove drunk drivers from our roads and bring your family home safe.
Issued by Luyanda Longwe, Stakeholder Manager: MMC for Public Safety, 28 July 2019
