Gauteng has the highest police killings
Provincial commissioner gives mournful speech at Const Petrus Mahlatsi’s memorial service and reminds officers to follow protocol when attending to crime scenes.
In honour of the late Const Motlalentoa Petrus Mahlatsi who was shot dead on July 11, the Elsburg SAPS and the Elsburg CPF held a memorial service on Tuesday to bid farewell to their colleague.
Nederduitse Gereformeerde Kerk in Elsburg was filled with dignitaries from the SAPS Gauteng Provincial office such as Provincial Commissioner Lt Gen Deliwe de Lange and Gauteng police spokesperson Brig Mathapelo Peters.
Present were also representatives from the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) and the South African Policing Union (SAPU) who gathered with family members to pay their last respects.
According to de Lange, Gauteng is the leading province in police killings, losing around seven police officers a month.
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“I urge police officers to remember that whenever they attend a crime scene, they are dealing with criminals, in most cases aggressive and brazen criminals.
“I need you to assess your surroundings when you attend a scene and most importantly call for back up.
“Police officers, you carry guns. I encourage you to use them to protect yourselves and your colleagues.
“We cannot afford to be losing police officers at this rate,” said de Lange.
Many others who took to the podium expressed great distress at the number of officers who were being killed in the province and the sadness felt over losing a dedicated officer such as Mahlatsi.
Mahlatsi is survived by his wife who’s five months pregnant and three children from his previous marriage.
Const Nompumelelo Buthelezi who was with Mahlatsi on that fateful night said she could not detail the events that took place during their chase because everything happened so suddenly.
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“As per the Police Safety Programme, which was launched in 2017 by the national commissioner, police officers must prioritise their own safety.
“There are sub-programmes that stations and all the police officers engage in that are aligned to the same principles noted in the safety campaign,” said Peters.
Peters admitted that although the statistics of recovering unlicensed firearms were satisfactory there was still a large number of illegal firearms in the hands of criminals.
“As soon as a gun is certified as illegal the person will be charged for illegal possession of a firearm or carrying an unlicensed firearm,
“The legislation on gun control is currently under review, so the police will continue doing what they are doing to ensure that unlicensed firearms are seized from criminals,” said Peters.
Mahlatsi will be laid to rest in the Free State on Saturday.
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