‘CRIMINAL’ COP IS SUSPENDED
By Tarren-Lee Habelgaarn
2014-01-31 09:00
A constable, stationed at
Athlone police station, has been suspended as he has three criminal cases
pending against him.
An
Athlone police officer has been caught on the wrong side of the law for the
third time in just over two months.
The
officer has been pointed out as a suspect in a case of vehicle theft, assault
and drug possession.
Grassy Park police arrested
the constable, who is also a detective at Athlone police, for car theft in the
early hours of Sunday 12 January.
The cop was allegedly
caught red-handed with four other suspects while towing a stolen vehicle at
03:30.
This, however, is not the
only criminal case pending against the officer, whose name is known to People’s
Post.
According to a statement
released by Grassy Park police, he has also been linked to a case of assault.
The assault charge was laid
on Thursday 9 January.
He was also arrested in
Grassy Park last month for drug possession.
According to provincial
police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk, the arrests were made while the Athlone
cop was still performing his duties at the station.
The officer has since been
released on bail and has been suspended from his duties, Van Wyk says.
The constable’s dockets
have been assigned to fellow Athlone police officers, he confirms.
People’s Post requested
information on how many other provincial and local police officers have had
criminal cases opened against them, but Van Wyk declined to answer.
He says officers are kept
in line through monthly email notices which encourage police officers to stay
away from any form of illegal activities.
Athlone Community Policing
Forum chairperson Aziza Kannemeyer confirms police being caught on the wrong
side of the law has become a general problem within the force.
“The Athlone police have
not received great reviews this year. There are many officers with cases
against them, but this is a problem that expands nationally and provincially
too,” Kannemeyer insists.
While police have been
tasked with the responsibility of serving and protecting their communities,
Kannemeyer says it is becoming difficult for residents to believe in the force.
“While I am not painting
all officers with the same brush, officers need to be held accountable to the
community they serve.”
Kannemeyer says regular internal
auditing and rotating officers more frequently might be the solution to
corruption within the police service.
“It will be a good idea to
move officers to a different station. There are officers who have stayed at one
station for decades and that’s when they often become too close to the gangs
and drug pushers,” she says.
