Elderly man found dead in police holding cell
Kriel - South Africa
A man with Alzheimer disease was found dead in his cell on Tuesday
evening , few hours after being arrested for shoplifting .
A security guard grabbed mr. James Frederick Brown (69) in Shoprite
for not paying for a Top-Deck chocolate bar of R8,50 .
An elderly eye-witness who wants to remain anonymous out of fear for
vengeance , saw a group of people carried Brown .
"Small children ran underneath him and beat him while the others kept
him up in the air. It was horrible . Even the cashier shouted they
must kill the old man if he wants to steal chocolates".
According to Brown's daughter me. Rose-Marie Steyn , he left about
12h30 the day to go to town , everybody in town knew of his disease.
"We became worried when he was not at home yet by 13h30 "
Meanwhile a hairstylist , me. Steyn's husband , Willie announced that
mr. Brown was arrested and taken into custody for shoplifting .
"We battled the whole afternoon at the policestation to see my dad ,
but the police refused. They said he is aggressive and must rather
sleep it off."
"We explained to the police that my husband have Alzheimer disease but
they did not listen" told Brown's wife Rosa.
"A policeman told me he aimed his gun at my husband because James was
so wild. The police insisted that he'd be kept in the holding cells
till 18h00."
"When they finally went to fetch my dad , my husband went with to ease
his mood " me. Steyn said.
Brown was found with his back on the floor with his head in a huge blood pool.
According to the police , maybe Brown fell backward in his cell and
hit his head against something.
Dr. Leon Pelser examined Brown in the cell.
"The cell was so dark I had to ask the policeman to switch on his
torch so I will be able to see what I'm doing. In perilous conditions
I've put a pipe in his airway and massaged his heart , but to no avail
- it was too late. I wrote "unnatural death" on the deathcertificate
because I knew a formal judicial enquiry will be made ."
According to Supt. Abie Khoabane , the police's provincial
spokesperson , Brown arrived at the police station with blood on his
face and clothes when the security guards brought him.
Brown had wounds and lacerations on his right eye , nose and chin as
well as a hole in his head.
According to Khoabane they still wait for a postmortem to be completed
which were held Thursday afternoon.
Me. Sonto Mlatswa , Shoprite's manager of the store where the incident
took place ; confirmed that Brown was arrested for shoplifting , but
didn't knew of any assault.
The security guards refused to speak to the media.
A spokesperson for the Shoprite group of companys , confirmed that an
alleged shoplifter was arrested Tuesday.
The police is investigating the incident , therefore we can't comment
on the matter any further."
Brown's family is Furious !
"How could they do something so awful to an old sick man ?! Maybe he
was difficult at times , but he did not deserve that. Maybe he just
forgot to pay for the chocolate " cried me. Brown , tears flowing down
her face.
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