Michael, Clive

Deaf since birth and basically uneducated. Caught by two policemen at the Chatsworth, South Africa, police station breaking into a police car, he was struck hard by the officers and roughly manhandled into a holding cell, bleeding badly. A short while later, four other policemen took Michael for several hours' interrogation, stripping him naked and beating him badly; they said later they thought his deafness was really just an act. Dumped back into the holding cell, he was found dead a short time later, his name still unknown. Not until his father reported his son missing the next morning was the body identified. The Chatsworth police station already had a very long and very bad reputation for corruption and violence among its officers. When the officers were first investigated by the South African Independent Complaints Directorate, and then tried in Durban High Court, the Clive Michael case turned out to be the last straw and a catalyst for change. A major shake-up and reforms were forced onto the Chatsworth station, considerably improving its effectiveness and reputation.