THE FAMILY of a young man who was fatally shot by an undercover police officer on Sunday night claims the police lied about the circumstances surrounding his death.
Johnny Doëseb (18), was shot by police officers in Windhoek after allegedly resisting arrest and attempting to assault the officers.
However, his family claims the police are hiding the truth. The family yesterday provided with several video clips of two officers in civilian clothes who appeared to be manhandling Doëseb before one of them fires the fatal shot.
Speaking to yesterday at their home in Katutura’s Damara location, Doëseb’s family said he was manhandled by the police officers before he was shot without him putting up any resistance.
Doëseb’s mother, who was travelling from Aranos, sat quietly on the sofa as the family narrated what happened.
The family further claimed that the police provided wrong information, such as the name of the victim which was misspelt as ‘John Dausab’ in the police report, the street address, and other critical information.
According to a police report released on Monday, an on-duty officer allegedly shot and killed Doëseb, whom they described as unruly, during an undercover operation.
The police report stated that the incident happened along Max Eixab Street, while the family said the shooting happened along Ulrich Zwingt Street near Josef Gariseb Street.
Police spokesperson, chief inspector Kauna Shikwambi, told on Monday that Doëseb was a wanted criminal who was out on bail. Once the undercover officers found out where he was, they went out to arrest him.
However, the suspect was unruly and resisted arrest, which led to the officer shooting him in self-defence, Shikwambi had said.
The family denied that Doëseb was ‘a wanted, dangerous suspect’ who was on bail. They also said Doëseb has never been in jail, and does not have a criminal record.
Doëseb’s older sister, Yeonice Doëses, said they were at home on Sunday night having dinner when her brother decided to go around the corner to buy “Drink-o-Pop”.
After he left, she heard a commotion outside, and someone ran to her saying “your brother is fighting”.
Once she arrived at the scene, Doëses questioned the two officers, who were in civilian clothes and did not provide an arrest warrant or show any identification, why they were attacking her brother.
“I tried stopping the officer from beating my brother, but then he threatened to beat me,” she said.
She added that one of the police officers then kicked her in the face, and someone from the crowd threw a bottle in the direction of the officers in her defence.
“That bottle never hit him [the police officer],” she claimed.
When the crowd tried to defend Doëses and her brother, the police officers allegedly drew their guns, and the crowd retreated.
A third police officer, whom the community knows as “Shorty” and who usually roams the streets, arrived on the scene and shackled Doëseb to one of the police officers, but later went away.
“How would he attack the police officer if he was handcuffed to him?” she asked.
Doëses continued that the police officer pinned Doëseb to the wall, and shot him. His body was then dragged up the street before the officer removed the handcuffs.
Another family member, Ray-Charles Claasen, who was at the scene when the police officers arrived, said Doëseb pleaded with the police officers not to assault him.
“He was not resisting any arrest. All he was saying is ‘wait, let’s just talk,” Claasen added.
In multiple recorded videos shown to The Namibian, Doëseb is seen being pulled by the shirt by two police officers, one clad in a navy blue jumpsuit and the other in a red shirt and blue pants.
A third man in a white shirt is seen holding handcuffs, while someone in the crowd shouts: “Shorty, wag eers (Shorty, wait first)”.
Several clips later, a gunshot is heard, and a man is heard screaming: “It’s that guy who shot him”.
Doëses stressed that the police officer was not injured, as stated in the police report. She said when the City Police arrived on the scene, they did not ask from the family or crowd what had happened.
Doëses said she feels guilty about what happened to her brother because if she had not arrived at the scene, no commotion would have taken place.
“I cannot sleep at night,” she lamented.
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