Toe to toe with a cop
A MAN sustained critical head injuries after he was attacked near a filling station in Nelson Mandela Drive by numerous people, including a police officer.
MOKOPANE – A MAN sustained critical head injuries after he was attacked near a filling station in Nelson Mandela Drive by numerous people, including a police officer.
According to a statement by Suricat Security Services, Hendrik Masemene, a reaction-officer, was sent to Abies Motors after the panic button was activated. On arrival Masemene called for backup as he was informed by one of the employees at the filling station that a shot was fired. Eddie le Roux and Leon Hurter, both reaction-officers from Suricat, arrived on the scene and the control room called the Mokopane police.
“When we arrived we found a man seriously hurt lying on the floor of the filling station and we requested an ambulance.
“About six people attacked this man, allegedly because he pushed them off the road earlier, and both vehicles stopped at Abies Motors. The driver walked up to apologise and the suspects, who were in the vehicle that was allegedly pushed off the road, started to attack him,” Hurter told Bosveld.
“One of the suspects pulled out a 9mm handgun, and we stood back and waited for the police to arrive as we were unsure if any of the other suspects were in possession of firearms, and we did not want to endanger anyone.”
When the police arrived on the scene, chaos erupted as the friends of the man who was attacked stormed the attackers.
“At this point one of the attackers, who we were told by the police is a member of the Mokopane police, pulled out his firearm, and pointed it at me, I also drew my firearm and asked him to stand down.When he stood down, the police grabbed him and confiscated his firearm. We were told that there are no ambulances available and the injured man was taken to Voortrekker Hospital in a private vehicle.”
Hurter said: “The police told us that the suspect who pointed the gun was a member of the police and that they would take care of the incident. I asked the control room to notify the newspapers as I had a feeling that this is going to be swept under the rug. Not only did he assault someone, but he also pointed his gun at me while under the influence.
“Senior members of the police arrived on the scene and notified us that a thorough investigation will take place by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IDIP) and that this is not the officer’s first offense. In my opinion he should be suspended,” Hurter said.
Bosveld spoke to Asif Sorathia, manager of Abies Motors, and he said by the time he arrived on the scene everything was under control and there was no damage caused to his shop. Const Irene Masingi, spokesperson for the Mokopane police station, reported: “A male member of the Mokopane police stopped at Abies Motors to fill-up his vehicle when he approached the driver of another vehicle and told him that he was an inconsiderate driver and almost pushed him off the road. An argument erupted between them and allegedly a warning shot was fired in the air by the police member during the argument. He also damaged the tyres of the victim’s vehicle and a round of cartridge was confiscated at the scene. The suspect is charged with assault with the intent to cause grievously bodily harm and the case has been handed over to the IPID.” Patrick Makhubele, Mokopane police station commander, said he condemned the behaviour by a police member: “We are responsible to serve and protect the communtity!”
