THE Port Elizabeth man who allegedly tied up and beat his wife for months before neighbours eventually alerted the police, has accused the arresting officer of pushing him down two flights of stairs.
In addition, Frederick Gordon, 42, claims that police failed to read him his constitutional rights when they arrested him on March 24 last year.
Gordon has pleaded not guilty in the Port Elizabeth Regional Court to charges of kidnapping, rape and attempted murder.
The former air force employee allegedly locked his wife, Avril, in their tiny Forest Hill flat between November 2010 and March last year, during which time he allegedly beat, burnt and raped her with sharp objects.
Avril, who has since come out and publicly told her story, claims she was not allowed to leave the flat or talk to anyone.
On March 24, police officers had to kick down Gordon's front door in order to rescue the 52-year-old mother, who had allegedly been beaten and burnt so badly, she had to be carried out of the flat on a stretcher.
Police have since described the incident as one of the most horrific cases of domestic violence ever reported in the city.
But in court yesterday, Gordon turned the tables on the state when he claimed he was the only one to be assaulted on the day in question.
Not only does he deny beating his now estranged wife, he claims that the last time he saw her, shortly before his arrest, she had no visible injuries.
Gordon initially wanted to represent himself, but on the advice of the magistrate acquired the assistance of the Legal Aid Board.
Yesterday, he claimed that after police forced their way into his flat at about 9pm on March 24, a police officer handcuffed him, without reading his constitutional rights, and then pushed him down two flights of stairs.
He said he sustained injuries to the face.
Constable Zukile Mbebe, who was one of the first officers to arrive onthe scene, said he had phoned his superior before entering the flat. He said it was the senior police officer who kicked down the door.
"We could immediately see that the complainant had been assaulted. My colleague read the accused his rights and I arrested him. My colleague then searched him and we took him to the van."
Mbebe conceded that Gordon had an abrasion on his face, but said he was already injured by the time the police arrested him.
He denied pushing Gordon down the stairs.
Metro ambulance medic Mkhululi January described Avril's injuries as "deeply serious".
January had attended to the scene at about 9.30pm on March 24. He said when he arrived at the flat, police officers were already inside and a traumatised Avril was sitting on a bed in a back room.
"They [police] took me to her. She had multiple wounds to the head and face. On examination, I could see a scar on her back, her legs were swollen and she had old and fresh wounds all over her body," January said.
"I reassured her that I was there to help her but she battled to talk. She had lacerations on her lip and nose.
"We immediately had to stop the bleeding on the back of her head and nose with bandages. We took her blood pressure. It was very low. We had to put up a drip because she had lost so much blood.
"There was blood on the bedroom walls and all over in the bathroom," January said.
The trial was postponed to November 13.
