A McGregor woman’s son will be paid damages after his mother committed suicide by using the very laces the police had been duty-bound to take off her.
The Western Cape High Court has ordered the police minister to cough up damages amounting to nearly R1 million to the son of a woman who had committed suicide while in police custody.
This is because the police had not confiscated her shoelaces while she was detained.
According to court details, the deceased had refused to hand over her shoelaces to police when she was arrested, and due to the confusion of police who had to arrange for a female police officer to search the deceased, they negligently locked her up with the very items she used to commit suicide.
Marius Otto, who was 11-years-old at the time of his mother’s death, sued the minister of police for loss of support by his mother, for his estimated medical expenses, and for general damages “for shock, past and future pain, suffering, discomfort, disablement and loss of amenities of life”.
Before him becoming of age, Otto was represented in the matter by his grandmother.
Otto’s mother had been arrested in June 2011 for riotous behaviour following a complaint of a domestic disturbance that occurred between her and her female lover, while she had allegedly been intoxicated at their McGregor home.
“At the police station, the deceased was asked to hand over her belongings and in particular her shoelaces, but she resolutely refused. This presented a problem because police standing orders at the time required that any items that might be used by the detainee to harm herself (or others) had to be removed from her possession.
“The problem was compounded by the fact that there was no female officer on duty that night to conduct a physical search of the deceased. Once again, standing orders required that the detainee could only be searched by an officer of the same gender,” the judgment noted.
An arrangement, known in local police parlance as “a halfway”, was made.
This procedure involved a patrol van from Robertson driving through to a spot near a farm called “Uitnood” (which is about halfway between the towns) with a female officer on board.
At the same time, the McGregor van would be driven through to the “halfway” with the female detainee and the latter would then be searched at the “halfway” by the female officer. Once the task was complete, the patrol vans would make an about-turn and head back to their respective police stations.
However, due to a misunderstanding by the McGregor police, the van arrived at the halfway location without the deceased and upon the return to the McGregor police station, the deceased was found unresponsive, having hanged herself from the bars of the window.
“In a macabre twist of fate, the deceased had committed suicide by using the very laces the police had been duty bound to take off her. (A police officer) immediately cut loose the ligature, but the deceased had already breathed her last,” the judgment detailed.
Judge Patrick Gamble said the death of Otto’s mother - who died the day after his 11th birthday - caused him “considerable emotional grief”.
“He had difficulty concentrating at school: he failed the year in which he lost her. That notwithstanding, the plaintiff eventually passed matric and was actively involved in cricket, both as a player and a coach of a local side. The plaintiff is reported to harbour very negative feelings towards the police whom he regards as responsible for the death of his mother.
“The plaintiff now has a child by his life-partner, and he struck the court as a responsible young man with resilience and determination. He does appear to wish to get on with his life and is not wallowing in self-pity,” said Gamble.
Enquiries to the police ministry had not been answered by deadline.
chevon.booysen@inl.co.za