A recent case of alleged rogue police officers has come to light on social media following an incident that involved three members of the Sandton Police Station.
The incident surfaced after a social media post was shared detailing the incident. According to the post, the two victims, a 44-year-old female and 56-year-old male were on their way to fetch the victim’s child at Kyalami Preparatory School when they were ambushed by what they believed to be hijackers at the corner of Shakespeare Road and Woodmead Drive on 25 January.
The female victim recounted that three men wearing civilian clothes driving an old Volkswagen Citi Golf approached them, brandishing weapons and instructing them to allow the vehicle to be searched. “They forced their arms/bodies into the driver’s window and attempted to grab the keys from the ignition,” said the victim. She claims that they threatened to shoot them and allegedly tried to force them to go with them. She also claimed they were abused, insulted and mistreated.
“We 100 per cent believed ourselves to be in the midst of a hijacking with criminals pretending to be police officers (a common occurrence in Joburg),” the victim stated.
She posted that when they went to the police station they were told the men were indeed police officers based at the station.
When approached for comment, Constable David Mothapo, spokesperson for the Sandton Police Station confirmed that the victim visited the police station. “The complainant was given the option to lay a formal complaint and let the internal procedures that are in place take its course, and if the officers in question are found guilty of misconduct they will be charged. However, she has not yet made a formal complaint. Police officers are often placed in civilian clothes and unmarked vehicles as part of certain operations,” stated Mothapo.
“The Sandton Police Station wishes to dispel rumours of rogue police officers and if you feel police officers have been unprofessional or abusive, the community is urged to lay a formal complaint or phone the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).”
Mothapo said that police have a code of conduct which includes investigating criminal conduct and addressing the root cause of crime in the community.
Details: Sandton Police Station 011 722 4200; Ipid 011 333 2705 ; complaints@ipid.gov.za
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