Andre Smit discovered the truth of the adage that brandy and depression make bad bedfellows when he hurled racial slurs at policemen at a nightclub in Jeffreys Bay.
The ex-police captain was “deliberately ambushed” and beaten up outside the Bermuda Night Club by every policeman on duty in the coastal town – suffering severe injuries and the loss of sight in one eye.
It need not have ended that way. It was a case of mistaken identity when the argument started.
Port Elizabeth High Court Judge Jeremy Pickering explained‚ in a judgement handed down on Tuesday‚ how Smit had been sitting disconsolately at the bar in the club “nursing the latest in a long succession of alcoholic drinks‚ as well as nursing an ego badly battered” by a personal crisis in his life.
“On the night of 8th May 2008‚ (Smit) discovered for himself the truth of the adage that brandy and depression make bad bedfellows‚” said the judgement.
Several policemen entered the bar and asked him to leave in what was actually a case of mistaken identity. The owner of the club had called the police to remove his brother‚ whose unruly behaviour had upset patrons.
“Innocent of any wrongdoing‚ he refused to leave and swore at the police‚ advising them impolitely to leave him alone. Tensions escalated from there culminating in (Smit)‚ a white ex-police captain‚ swearing at the police‚ who were all coloured persons‚ in what (Smit) conceded were unacceptable racial terms.”
The police left and called reinforcements from the Jeffreys Bay police station. “In an extraordinary step‚ the police station was closed and locked and all the policemen on duty there rushed to support their colleagues who were waiting outside the club premises‚” read the judgment.
Smit was attacked as he left the club by the police who wanted to “exact revenge for his crude‚ racial slurs which had humiliated and angered them”.
Police said he was injured while attempting to resist arrest and because of his provocative conduct and was not entitled to any damages‚ but the court rejected this.
The minister of safety and security‚ now known as the minister of police‚ was ordered by the court to pay Smit R600 000 in compensation for the attack to cover his past medical expenses‚ future medical expenses and general damages. – Tiso Black Star Group Digital
‘Brandy and depression make bad bedfellows‚’ judge quips in assault case ruling
The ex-police captain was “deliberately ambushed” and beaten up outside the Bermuda Night Club by every policeman on duty in the coastal town – suffering severe injuries and the loss of sight in one eye.
It need not have ended that way. It was a case of mistaken identity when the argument started.
Port Elizabeth High Court Judge Jeremy Pickering explained‚ in a judgement handed down on Tuesday‚ how Smit had been sitting disconsolately at the bar in the club “nursing the latest in a long succession of alcoholic drinks‚ as well as nursing an ego badly battered” by a personal crisis in his life.
“On the night of 8th May 2008‚ (Smit) discovered for himself the truth of the adage that brandy and depression make bad bedfellows‚” said the judgement.
Several policemen entered the bar and asked him to leave in what was actually a case of mistaken identity. The owner of the club had called the police to remove his brother‚ whose unruly behaviour had upset patrons.
“Innocent of any wrongdoing‚ he refused to leave and swore at the police‚ advising them impolitely to leave him alone. Tensions escalated from there culminating in (Smit)‚ a white ex-police captain‚ swearing at the police‚ who were all coloured persons‚ in what (Smit) conceded were unacceptable racial terms.”
The police left and called reinforcements from the Jeffreys Bay police station. “In an extraordinary step‚ the police station was closed and locked and all the policemen on duty there rushed to support their colleagues who were waiting outside the club premises‚” read the judgment.
Smit was attacked as he left the club by the police who wanted to “exact revenge for his crude‚ racial slurs which had humiliated and angered them”.
Police said he was injured while attempting to resist arrest and because of his provocative conduct and was not entitled to any damages‚ but the court rejected this.
The minister of safety and security‚ now known as the minister of police‚ was ordered by the court to pay Smit R600 000 in compensation for the attack to cover his past medical expenses‚ future medical expenses and general damages. – Tiso Black Star Group Digital
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