I am the lady concerned.
Mr Kgasago, the reason why the correspondence was sent so late was because I could not make up my mind to give the go ahead in sending the email, as I was simply afraid of victimisation by you and your department.
Why do you make an issue about the time span for such matters to be reported? Is there perhaps a timeframe in which such matters had to be reported?
The matter was however in any case, not reported to you by me, but to the media in order to warn motorists of what your officials are up to.
I have been a uniformed official for many years, probably for longer than you, and I have also studied in law, therefore I know – and you should know very well – that I had no witnesses with me and in the end it would have ended in my word against your officers and therefore not a very strong case for me.
The failure to record the number plate of the officer’s car was firstly because the patrol vehicle was parked on the other side of the road which has a speed limit of 100kmh. To get my almost sixty year old female body over such a dangerous road to go and write down a registration number was to say the least, treacherous and life threatening.
Secondly I did not have a pen with me.
Thirdly, I did not have the guts!
When one looks at the ample media accounts of members of the public being harassed, assaulted, arrested and even shot at by police officers whilst trying to record registration numbers, names or video footage of police officers, it is very clear that such an action may in itself be a possible treacherous and dangerous move.
In any case Mr Kgasago, if you were really interested in getting to the bottom of this there are ways to determine who the officers were.
Surely a police department should always know where its officials are?
Is it not true that when officers stop at a road to do roadworthy checks, or whatever, they radio in, or should radio in, to a control room or a supervisor and report their location and their plan of action?
Such reports should then get recorded by the control room.
What happens if these officers go missing or don’t report back. How is your esteemed department going to know where to go look for them?
I observe you are a Chief Superintendent so I assume you come a long way.
Don’t you know these things?
Is this the way metro police departments work nowadays – officers getting sent out on the roads and no one is aware of where they are and what are they up to?
Lastly Mr Kgasago, I wish to inform you that I’m still a taxpayer in this country. I’m also a female.
The bossy, arrogant, disrespectful way in which you reply to complaints from me and other members of the public is to say the least, extremely disconcerting. May I remind you that you are a public servant and that you should serve the public according to the principles of Batho Pele.
Maybe the EMPD should employ a proper media liaison officer with proper training for the job and not a hard core cop like you. It’s very clear you lack compassion and respect for people and are out of your league here.
The aim of the first letter to this newspaper (they did not publish the full content) was to evoke public and official opinion about the random stopping of motorists that have done nothing wrong, by police.
Clearly your department and you are not willing to address this issue, even in view of the fact that motorists are robbed by either bogus or real policemen as was reported in this very same newspaper on occasions.
Your officers invaded my privacy and my right of free movement by pulling me off for doing nothing wrong.
That is the issue I want to resolve but I clearly cannot count on you to do anything about it.
The public needs to rather take these matters up with the appropriate ministers of transport, police and justice.
I’m planning to do it.
Major (Retired) W Underhay
