Robbers kill cop at police
station
April 17 2014 at 02:39pm
By Henri du Plessis
By Henri du Plessis
Cape Town -
A lone
policeman on duty at a police station in a Boland village was shot dead on
Wednesday night by criminals who robbed the station of five firearms.
Manning the
charge office by himself late at night while two colleagues were on vehicle
patrol, the married father of two died in a pool of his own blood on the floor
of the small charge office on Old Paarl Road in Klapmuts.
Warrant Officer
Steven Britz, 44, was alone in the charge office during the late night shift
because an officer from his four-member shift was on leave.
Britz was the
fourth police officer attacked in the Western Cape this year and the third to
die on duty.
Western Cape
provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Arno Lamoer said the incident
“should be very worrying for the whole of South Africa”.
“It was a
brazen act, walking into a police charge office, shooting the man on duty and
getting away with police firearms.”
Britz was
married with two children. He had 22 years’ service with the police.
Late on
Wednesday night, just before 11pm, it is believed three men arrived at the door
of the police station and rang the bell to enter. It is believed Britz pushed
the button to open the security gate to allow the trio to enter.
Exactly what
happened after that remains unclear.
Neither Lamoer,
nor any of his staff at the scene this morning could give more details, but
Britz was shot and killed, after which the three attackers made their escape
with five firearms stolen from the charge office.
Neither Lamoer
nor spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel André Traut would say what type of firearms
were taken, but it is understood that members usually go on vehicle patrol with
sidearms, leaving heavier calibre weapons such as shotguns and R5 assault
rifles locked up at the charge office.
A visibly upset
Lamoer visited the Klapmuts police station on Thursday while detectives
searched the charge office for clues.
“It is too
much. This cannot go on,” Lamoer said.
“The members
out on patrol called the charge office and he answered. When they called in
again later, the phone was just shut off. They returned to the charge office
and found him lying on the floor in a pool of blood.”
Lamoer said the
Klapmuts police station had 40 members, with four on duty per shift. They
served a community of about 15 000 people.
He admitted it
was not normal to leave one person alone in the charge office, but it was all
that could be done because one member was on leave.
Lamoer would
not comment on the probability that the attackers had known there would be a
lone policeman on duty on Wednesday night.
Cape Argus
