Pretoria cops in ‘hot water’ over not wearing masks at crime scene
The complainant refused the police entry unless if they wore masks properly, but one police officer is said to have ignored the plea and kept his mask on his chin.
A resident has laid a complaint with the Brooklyn police following an incident in which a group of officers were allegedly spotted not wearing their masks properly while responding to a crime scene, Pretoria Rekord reports.
It is alleged that the members had responded to a robbery in 25th Street in Menlo Park when they arrived with masks on their chins.
A bystander, who chose to remain anonymous, said the complainant refused the police entry unless they wore masks properly, but one police officer chose to ignore the plea and kept his mask on his chin.
In a picture seen by Pretoria Rekord, about three officers are seen leaning against a police vehicle jotting down some notes on paper. Two of the officers are wearing masks, while one is seen with his mask on his chin.
“Members of the SAPS and other law enforcement agencies are not above the law, so members of the public are urged to report non-compliance or contravention of the regulations by members of law enforcement agencies,” said police spokesperson Brigadier Mathapelo Peters.
“I can at the same time, confirm that the station received a complaint of this nature involving only one member and this was immediately attended to and addressed with the officer in question.”
Peters said members of the police, like everyone in the country, were bound by the provisions of the Covid-19 disaster management act, adjusted level 3 lockdown regulations which stipulated that wearing face masks in public was mandatory.
Less than two weeks ago, the Brooklyn police station was temporarily closed for decontamination after one of its members tested positive for Covid-19.
Peters said the closing of the station was “no anomaly” as many other stations in the province have been temporarily closed due to cases of the virus and some have had to close more than once.
“Furthermore, our officers have not been spared from being infected by the fast-spreading coronavirus during this second wave of the pandemic, considering that they are on the frontline enforcing lockdown regulations and thus exposed to great risk of being infected,” Peters said.
“Once a positive case is confirmed at any of our police stations or buildings, the building is evacuated and temporarily closed down for decontamination and this can take up to a maximum 48 hours.”
To ensure that service delivery to the community is not disrupted, Peters said contingency plans were put in place to relocate services to an alternative address while the station is underwent decontamination.
She urged residents to report non-compliance to lockdown regulations to Brigadier Thine on 082-416-3701 or Colonel Mashao 082-822-7003 or Crime Stop at 08600-10111.
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