Cape Town - An upper Woodstock mother says her family has been left traumatised after a raid by 20 police officers on her home in which her husband and father, 75, were “assaulted”.
The latest incident involving police officers in Cape Town has left a family from Woodstock traumatised after officers unlawfully raided their home and allegedly assaulted them.
According to a 39-year-old woman, who did not want to be named, the incident took place on December 3 while she was out of the country.
“At approximately 11.45am, 20 officers stormed into my home in upper Woodstock in my absence, aggressively demanding entry without any warrant.
“This unwarranted intrusion resulted in the assault of my father, 75, my husband, 39, and my five children, aged 17, 15, 11, 10, and 6 years old,” she said.
The woman claimed that the officers referred to her husband as being involved with drugs and ammunition which led to the raid.
“They first told the kids it was for racism. They couldn’t give us a proper explanation as to why they were raiding us,” she said.
After this was revealed to the family the officers then allegedly displayed a complete disregard for the family’s basic human rights by allegedly assaulting, intimidating and traumatising the children with their firearms.
“My children, in a state of fear and panic, were confined to a room by a female officer while the male officers subjected my father and husband to physical handling.
“Upon enquiry by my husband regarding the reason for the raid, he was met with physical violence; no factual reason was given,” she said.
“Our home, a symbol of safety, now bears the scars of injustice, leaving us with a sense of fear and betrayal, devoid of hope for safety within our community and country.”
Pictures sent to Independent Media show the rooms turned upside down, clothes were thrown out of the cupboards and the drawers were emptied. The woman further alleges that several items were also taken from their home in the process.
“This invasion of privacy led to the ransacking of my home, leaving it in a state of utter disarray and a few personal items gone missing,” she claimed.
She said the officers were lawless and her loved ones had their cellphones taken away so there is no evidence.
“The distressing conduct exhibited by your officers has left my family in need of immediate therapeutic support due to the emotional trauma inflicted upon them.
“Moreover, the deliberate sabotage of our security cameras by an officer, preventing any recording of the events, is highly concerning and indicates a deliberate attempt to evade accountability,” she said. According to her, no one at the residence was arrested and the officers did not find any guns or drugs during their raid.
The family opened a case at the Woodstock police station which was later transferred to the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) for further investigation.
The woman said the incident has truly affected her family as well as their trust in the police.
“The ruthless actions of the police officials have shattered our sense of security and trust in the very guardians of law and order. Their brutality has left us emotionally scarred, robbed us of our peace, and instilled a haunting fear,” she said.
Ipid spokesperson Phaladi Shuping said the matter was being investigated.
“I can confirm that the matter was reported to Ipid and we are investigating it,” Shuping said.
byron.lukas@inl.co.za