The truth behind that viral 'police assault' video

KwaZulu-Natal police have shed light on a video doing the rounds on social media depicting a male police officer “assaulting” a female officer in front of colleagues.

Brigadier Jay Naicker said the officers in the clip were re-enacting a domestic violence situation as part of a training exercise.

“This re-enactment forms part of a module for domestic violence training that police officers are mandated to attend,” Naicker said. 

Police said they suspected it may have been shared by a police officer who had attended the 2018 training course in Durban.

Naicker said the police were disturbed by the sharing of the video, especially because of the timing, as South Africans were still reeling from a video which surfaced this week  purportedly showing musician Babes Wodumo (Bongekile Simelane) being assaulted.

Naicker pleaded with the public to stop sharing the video. 

“We are requesting members of the public who are in possession of the video clip not to re-post it. Whilst it is clear from the classroom setup that this is a training session, some may not immediately realise that and will be disturbed by what they see,” he said.

Police were working on tracing the officer who leaked the video. He or she would face disciplinary action.