A POLICE officer from Lwandle Police Station in Strand is under fire after giving a drunk man a helse klap outside the police station at the weekend.
A video posted online by crime group Fight Against Crime South Africa starts by showing the dronk ou, who was allegedly stabbed by someone else, on the ground as the police officer stands over him.
The drunk man then gets up and the officer can be heard skelling and swearing in IsiXhosa saying that the drunk man came to insult them (police officers), but he is scared of the guy that stabbed him.
The officer continues to demand respect.
The officer can be heard saying: “Don’t come to the police station when you are drunk, then you want to come and tell us nonsense because you are scared of the guy who stabbed you. So you come and give us s**t. You always come here when you are drunk to come and undermine us.”
A police officer is seen standing at the gate, however the angry officer passes him; points at the drunk man and says, “we are not your children” before smacking the drunk man and telling him, “v*****k, hamba”.
The other officer is seen intervening and taking his colleague inside the station before closing the police station’s gate.
One of the men standing close by, recording the altercation between the officer and the drunk man, is then told by the officer: “Even if you take a video, I do not care about that because every time you come to the police station to give us nonsense.
“We are not your children; don’t come to the police station and undermine us. Whenever you are drunk, you come and threaten us here. You are scared of the guy who stabbed you; the only thing you know is to come to the police station and give us nonsense.”
Police spokesperson Sergeant Wesley Twigg confirmed that the matter is now under investigation by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
Twigg said: “An assault case was registered for further investigation.
“The circumstances surrounding the incident are under investigation and no arrests have been made yet. Departmental disciplinary procedures have been instituted against the member.”
Western Cape Minister of Police Oversight and Community Safety, Anroux Marais, added: “The behaviour of the police officer depicted in the circulating video is completely unacceptable and must not be tolerated.
“Incidents like this further tarnish the already strained trust relationship between residents and the police.
“I can confirm that a formal complaint has been registered and the matter is being investigated by Ipid. An internal disciplinary process has also been initiated.”