Officer Leading Protest Jailed in South Africa
A dissident police officer who publicly accused riot squad members of brutality was arrested today while leading a protest against orders to transfer him.
Also arrested, according to police Lt. Gregory Rockman’s lawyer, were another policeman and 12 prison guards who recently joined a new union headed by the mixed-race lieutenant. Police Commissioner Hennie de Witt said Rockman and the other policeman were suspended from the force.
Eight journalists covering their protest were detained for two hours, then released.
The dissident security officers were protesting in the mixed-race township of Mitchell’s Plain, Rockman’s hometown, against police orders to transfer him to a quartermaster’s unit in a white area of Cape Town.
Police also ordered the transfer of Col. John Manuel, the commander of the Mitchell’s Plain police station, who had supported Rockman.
Essa Moosa, Rockman’s lawyer, said the lieutenant and the other arrested officers would be charged with defeating the ends of justice and attending an illegal gathering.
Start your day right
Sign up for Essential California for news, features and recommendations from the L.A. Times and beyond in your inbox six days a week.
You may occasionally receive promotional content from the Los Angeles Times.
