News24 writes that Western Cape police have confirmed that an off-duty officer was shot dead in Cape Town in the early hours of Thursday. The 35-year-old sergeant was gunned down in Eerste River after allegedly being hijacked.
He was shot in his neck and, after having been transported to a nearby hospital, succumbed to his injuries. The officer had been stationed at Lentegeur’s visible policing unit. The Hawks are investigating the case. The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (Popcru) on Wednesday decried what it called an "alarming rise" in police killings, which nationwide totalled 38 within the last eight months. "Within a space of 10 days in the month of August, at least six officers have perished at the hands of criminality, with at least one having survived an attack," said spokesperson Richard Mamabolo. Popcru president Zizamele Cebekhulu commented: It has been far too long that the issues of police safety have been put by the wayside, and we cannot afford to stand idle. We urgently need a formulation of protective and preventative strategies necessary to protect our police officers.” He went on to say: “It is clear fact that police officers are being singled out as targets for attack irrespective of being in or out of uniform. In other words, they are known and identified in their neighbourhoods as police personnel."
- Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Tammy Petersen at News24
- Lees ook, Nóg ’n polisiebeampte om die lewe gebring, by Maroela Media
Get other news reports at the SA Labour News home page