The Guvnor
10th Nov 2000, 12:39
From today's Telegraph
EIGHTEEN dogs at a police unit involved in a videotaped attack on three
black men in South Africa are to be examined by animal psychologists to
decide whether they are racist.
If they are found to have been trained to respond to racist terms such as
"kaffir" and to behave differently towards black people, they will be
destroyed.
Officials investigating the incident, in which six policemen were shown on
television laughing and joking as they set four dogs on the men, said all the
animals at the North East Road dog unit in Johannesburg would be evaluated.
There is anecdotal evidence of dogs in South Africa growling and threatening
black people while ignoring whites. This will be put to the test in the dog unit.
In the video of the attack, which occurred in 1998, the officers jokingly
described the tape as a training video.
Karen McKenzie, director of the Independent Complaints Directorate, said:
"The possibility could exist that there were other sessions and that blacks
were used as live bait. If that turned out to be true, the dogs would have to be
put down. The psychological state of the dog is critical to our investigation."
The unit has 31 police officers and about 18 dogs. Only one of the officers is
black. Police dog units have been withdrawn from patrols of black townships
around Cape Town after death threats. There were tense scenes outside the
Pretoria magistrates' court where the six police officers, who were suspended
from duty and arrested hours before the video was broadcast, appeared
yesterday.
Police in riot gear watched as about 30 demonstrators marched outside the
court, chanting and displaying placards calling for life sentences for the
officers. They were not asked to plead on charges of assault and attempted
murder but were remanded for eight days. Bail was refused.
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:) Happiness is a warm L1011 :)
EIGHTEEN dogs at a police unit involved in a videotaped attack on three
black men in South Africa are to be examined by animal psychologists to
decide whether they are racist.
If they are found to have been trained to respond to racist terms such as
"kaffir" and to behave differently towards black people, they will be
destroyed.
Officials investigating the incident, in which six policemen were shown on
television laughing and joking as they set four dogs on the men, said all the
animals at the North East Road dog unit in Johannesburg would be evaluated.
There is anecdotal evidence of dogs in South Africa growling and threatening
black people while ignoring whites. This will be put to the test in the dog unit.
In the video of the attack, which occurred in 1998, the officers jokingly
described the tape as a training video.
Karen McKenzie, director of the Independent Complaints Directorate, said:
"The possibility could exist that there were other sessions and that blacks
were used as live bait. If that turned out to be true, the dogs would have to be
put down. The psychological state of the dog is critical to our investigation."
The unit has 31 police officers and about 18 dogs. Only one of the officers is
black. Police dog units have been withdrawn from patrols of black townships
around Cape Town after death threats. There were tense scenes outside the
Pretoria magistrates' court where the six police officers, who were suspended
from duty and arrested hours before the video was broadcast, appeared
yesterday.
Police in riot gear watched as about 30 demonstrators marched outside the
court, chanting and displaying placards calling for life sentences for the
officers. They were not asked to plead on charges of assault and attempted
murder but were remanded for eight days. Bail was refused.
------------------
:) Happiness is a warm L1011 :)