An investigation has been launched into shocking allegations against the Pretoria police dog school
Paul Kirk
Charges of sexual harassment, brutality and cruelty to animals are being investigated against a number of instructors at the Pretoria police dog school.
The charges centre on the victimisation of policewomen and black members of the South African Police Service, as well as mistreatment of the dogs issued to them.
Although the alleged events occurred between three and four years ago, they have come to light only this week, with six sworn affidavits collected in the past few days.
Female candidate dog handlers have allegedly been physically abused and sexual favours including oral sex demanded by their instructors. Black policemen have allegedly been singled out for severe physical training intended to break them.
Most of the courses at the school take six months to complete and candidate dog handlers, required to stay in bungalows on the school’s grounds, are seldom allowed out. For many police officers, it appears their stay at the school was a living hell.
A probe into some of the most shocking allegations yet levelled against the police dog school began on Monday. The probe centres on junior instructors employed by the dog school, but includes a senior officer a superintendent attached to the institution.
All the victims who feature in the investigation are members of the Durban and Cape Town dog units. Police from the two cities have been singled out for brutal treatment that they believe is due to the high numbers of blacks and women sent for training, most of them English-speaking.
The allegations first came to the attention of police investigators when one of the alleged victims was undergoing psychological counselling, in part due to her experiences at the dog school. After she made a statement to police management, several other policewomen were interviewed and all told a similar story.
One female police officer the Mail & Guardian spoke to was allegedly beaten, asked for sexual favours, insulted and stripped naked by a gang of instructors.
The officer had repeatedly fought off aggressive sexual advances and told the M&G that, based on her experience, she was convinced that others had fared far worse possibly even been raped.
Sexual harassment is a common thread of all the statements collected so far from women who were trained at the school. One victim has alleged that the senior officer involved in the scandal constantly harassed her in the hope that she would have sex with him.
A policewoman claims in a statement to investigators that she was repeatedly assaulted, kicked and punched during the course. In one incident she was beaten with an R5 rifle.
Another has given a sworn statement of how instructors brutalised her dog by shooting at it with live ammunition. This apparently so traumatised the dog called Rover that the animal became vicious even towards its handler.
Rover was tied up and driven over by a number of instructors in a 4×4 vehicle. The ground was soft sand and the dog managed to escape death as his head sank into the earth. He was refused medical treatment after the incident.
Serious allegations of abuse have been made against the instructors at the school since at least 1994, when Constable Carel von Dresselt collapsed and died during an exceptionally rigorous physical fitness training session.
Von Dresselt’s death was, at the time, investigated by a senior officer Brigadier Carl Schoeman who has since retired. The M&G was unable to locate Schoeman or establish the result of the investigation.
Since 1994 at least two instructors have been convicted of sexual misconduct. One, a Major Johan Fourie, was demoted to captain and transferred to the Pretoria dog unit after being accused of sexually harassing a woman working at the school. Fourie is still a serving police officer and has since been promoted.
Six East Rand dog unit policemen charged with attempted murder after they had been filmed using illegal immigrants as “live bait” for their dogs in 1998 were trained at the dog school.
The investigation into the latest claims is being undertaken by a senior officer from the Pretoria dog unit. The M&G has been asked not to reveal the investigator’s name.
Until now, victims have been afraid to complain because in order to stay in the dog unit they had to either attend the course again to obtain a passing grade or go back to the school for regular refresher courses.
Investigators are also out to establish why so many fit, healthy and physically competent black policemen failed the courses given by the instructors under investigation.
Many senior policemen said they suspect that instructors deliberately attempt to injure black police officers to make them fail the course.
The provincial commander of dog units in KwaZulu-Natal, Senior Superintendent Dana Kruger, confirmed this week that the probe is under way, but said at this early stage he could not comment. He also confirmed that the alleged offenders have not been suspended.
Said Kruger: “Their not being suspended is not because we do not think the allegations are serious. We will have to have a hearing into the charges before any decision can be made to suspend anyone. At this stage the investigation is in its very early stages and I do not feel I can comment on the matter.”