A JOBURG man who was caught at a Durban roadblock for drunken driving, was allegedly brutally assaulted by metro police officers when he questioned the credentials of the nurse who administered his blood test.
The man has laid assault charges against the police officers and wants action to be taken against them. Bruce Walker, 55, said he was not prepared to let an unqualified nurse, inject a needle into him after reading in December of a scandal of an unregistered nurse employed by the Durban metro police.
Bruce was in Durban two weeks ago to attend a relative's birthday party.
He was on his way from to Umbilo from the Bluff when he was stopped at a roadblock on Edwin Swales Drive. Deputy head of metro police Steve Middleton confirmed the incident and promised to take action.
“A breathalyser test was done and I was taken into a vehicle for my bloods to be drawn. After hearing about a metro police nurse, who was not registered but administered blood tests, I asked to see the credentials of the nurse running the test...,”said Walker. He said the cops at the scene said they would forcibly hold him down and draw blood from him if he did not co-operate. So, he co-operated. “I also asked if I could use a toilet and they said I should go outside and pee behind a vehicle. I refused to do that because there were women outside and that's a rude thing to do. This is when they approached me, handcuffed me then put me on the floor and beat me up repeatedly.”
Police spokeswoman Colonel Thembeka Mbhele confirmed the incident.
The Sunday Independent