Brutal assault: no-one arrested for Nov 15 2013 assault against Brian Barnard, 20, which ripped off part of his nose with a rifle-butt:
WHITE RIVER -- A month ago, a male suspect was charged who was described as 'a prominent figure in local private security circles' for an assault which took place on November 15 2013 when the man stormed in with members of the police highway patrol searching for specific farm attackers. He allegedly assaulted Brian Barnard with a rifle butt and mutilated the young man's face.
The assaillant was charged in the notorious “nose-case” of Mr Brian Barnard: a month ago -- but the suspect has not yet been arrested so that he can be put on trial: the SAPS says it 'await a decision from Public Prosecution director'
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Lowvelder journalist Susanna Oosthuizen 24 Feb 2014 reports that Brian Barnard, 20, still is terrified to leave home and remains badly traumatized after the facial mutilation.
-- A photo taken by a friend soon after the attack shows the damage to Brian Barnard's nose and the facial swelling after being hit with the butt of an assault rifle by a highway patrol policeman.
She reports that 'Brian Barnard was shy before the assault, in which part of his nose was ripped from his face, but since the attack on him in November 15 2013, finds it difficult to leave home."
He suffered the assault on November 18 2013 while out with friends at the Bahati sports bar. He said he and a friend were 'unknowingly socializing with previously unknown people believed to be farm attackers'. He didn't know that at the time he said - when members of the police highway patrol stormed in and one man - described as "a prominent figure in local private security circles' - allegedly assaulted him and mutilated the young man's face. The stranger the couple were socializing with reportedly even shouted during the assault: 'the boy had nothing to do with it', eyewitness said.
The eyewitnesses - who also took pictures -- have also corroborated his account of the events on the evening. He laid a charge of assault with the intent to cause grievous bodily harm a day after he was released from hospital.
Although no arrests have been made, he positively identified the man who has been charged with the crime.
The journalist reports that the docket was referred to the director of public prosecution (DOP) a month ago for a decision on whether the accused would be summoned to appear in court.
The accused man is a prominent figure in local private security circles.
The circumstances surrounding the case "demanded a DOP decision", explained SAPS Sgt Gerald Sedibe “It is because of the way it happened,” he said.
“The way it happened” as Barnard remembers it, leaves no doubt in his mind as to what needs to happen next. He is angry, the young man admits, and now also suffers from recurring nightmares. He finds it difficult to go out in public as people mock him.
Barnard was in the company of a man described as the 'suspected farm attacker' at around 20:00 on the night of the alleged assault.
The journalist wrote: "It was assumed by the men from J&M Security and a member of the flying squad that he (Barnard) was an associate of the criminal."
Most of the blows to Barnard’s head were delivered by the butt of an assault rifle, according to eyewitnesses.
A semi-conscious Barnard was dragged into the parking lot by the accused man and his brother.
Barnard recalled that he was recovering his senses while outside when the damaging blow to his face occurred.
A large section of his nose was torn off by the weapon used to deliver this final blow.
“By the force they used, it felt as if they intended to kill me,” he said.
Barnard also remembers clearly that the only man that offered any help was a black security guard on the scene.
“I want to thank him for caring,” he requested of the newspaper.
All he knows is that the man’s name is Tom and he works for 509 Security.
Barnard’s mother, Elsabé, is confounded by way in which the case is progressing: “If the perpetrator was a regular member of the public he would have been arrested on the spot.”
She worries, the mother confesses, about the reconstructive operations her son still needs. Three operations to his face have succeeded in transplanting skin from his forehead onto his nose, and in reconstructing his sinuses, “but there are complications and he will need more operations,” she says tearfully.
How she is going to afford this once Brian turns 21 in April, she doesn’t know. She will not be able to keep him as a dependant on her medical aid.
She disclosed the sad reality of their situation when she admitted “I earn less than R8,000 a month and Brian is in no condition to find work now.”
“I wish he could find peace again, and carry on with his life,” she sighs as she glances at her son. He just stares out of the window.
http://lowvelder.co.za/53077/nightmares-for-young-man-after-assault/
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Nose case raise questions about cops:
WHITE RIVER – Mr Brian Barnard (20) lost half of his nose two weeks ago and the man responsible for this mutilation has still not been apprehended.
This despite the fact that Barnard identified his attacker on a photograph and there were several eyewitnesses to the incident.
The assault occurred on November 15, just before 20:00 at Bahati, a well-known bar in town.
Barnard and his cousin (who prefers to remain anonymous), were unknowingly socialising with a suspect in an armed robbery when employees of J&M Security and members of the police’s highway patrol stormed in.
Eyewitnesses recount that the security guard, dressed in civilian wear, grabbed Barnard, who resisted. “He was yelling ‘what is going on here?’” when he received a blow to the face with the back-end of a firearm,” one witness told Lowvelder.
Barnard fell to the ground where another blow was dealt to his face, this time with the barrel of the weapon.
It was clear to bystanders that the suspect in the armed robbery knew what was happening. He apparently yelled “the boy had nothing to do with it”. Both suspects were taken outside for questioning and Barnard was dismissed by the police based on the admission of the robbery suspect.
Bleeding profusely, he was taken to Mediclinic Nelspruit by a family member. His cousin retrieved a part of his nose in the parking lot the following day. Doctors operated for three hours to mend the crushed cheekbones and transplant skin. He has no bone in his nose at present.
Soon after his release from hospital on November 18, Barnard opened a case of assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm at the Nelspruit police station. The case was transferred to White River.
He did not name his attacker in his official statement, but later identified the man from a photograph shown to him by a friend. The suspect is an employee of J&M Security and his identity is known to the newspaper. In an initial conversation with the paper, the man did not deny the attack. His statement was later retracted and replaced with the comment that J&M will react as the matter unfolds. He agreed to an interview last week, but failed to turn up at the appointed time.
Provincial spokesman for the SAPS, Col Leonard Halthi, has been unable to explain why, in two weeks’ time, the investigating officer has not approached Barnard for a positive identification of his attacker. He reiterated the statement made a week ago regarding the case, saying that statements are still outstanding and that positive identification needs to take place. A week ago, the SAPS indicated that an arrest would be made within a week, and this was said again on Wednesday.
A high-ranking police officer confirmed that police officers should have arrested the suspect on the scene. The newspaper received confirmation that members of the Flying Squad were on the scene.
“It is sufficient for Barnard to have identified his attacker by means of a photograph. There is no need for a formal ID parade,” the police officer added, and also said that this constitutes, in fact, a case of attempted murder.
This week, a concerned mother directed a letter to the paper in which she asked, “Who guards the guards?”. She wrote that she had been following the case and had been waiting to see when an arrest would be made. “Now it seems they will not make an arrest and I want an answer from the police and the body that is supposed to govern security companies,” she states.
Hlathi said this week that the police “investigate to arrest and not the other way around”. According to him an arrest was imminent this week.
http://lowvelder.co.za/38228/arrestasie-in-neus-saak-ophande/
http://lowvelder.co.za/36491/nog-geen-arrestasies-in-neus-saak/
http://lowvelder.co.za/?p=35687
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