Yet another dark cloud hangs over our police force, the interesting part: on the doorstep of the Krugersdorp Police Station.
I am talking about four police officers who are accused of killing Khulekani Mpanza. Conflicting versions are flying all over the place, but the fact remains the deceased was shot by those who are supposed to uphold the law.
If he was running away from police, or worse when he was down, he didn’t pose any threat to the accused. Shouldn’t they have apprehended him so he could have his day in court just like any other citizen?
One have to wonder … didn’t these officers know the street was under surveillance? That their actions will come and haunt them? I refuse to believe excessive force was their only option. Their being behind bars shows how reckless they were. Bringing us to the question, are our officers properly trained? Are they able to apply required force in every scenario they come across?
Intelligence will tell us you open fire where necessary, not at random. It is disturbing to see officers accused of murder and defeating the ends of justice. We can fire the station commissioner, but if training is not up to standard, we will be back here watching police officers trying to cover their faces with jerseys and caps at the state’s expense.
