Opinions
Letter: Corrupt cops 1
Dear Editor, While driving my Smart Fortwo around
Johannesburg, I had a run-in with the SAPS.
11 May 2012
I rounded a bend at the Turffontein Fire Station
and the SAPS pulled me over because they simply had to have a look at this
unusual little car. Asking for my licence was just an excuse. I had left my
licence in my bike jacket so this was just up their ally.
“What are we going to do with you?” asked the officer. “Well I really don’t know,” I said, and waited for his next move. He went around to the other side of his van, came back and said: “No man, you are playing with my mind, I don’t know what to do with you.” Just then, his colleague, a white lady officer, walked up behind him and he asked her what the fine is for not carrying a driver’s licence. She said there was no fine and that I’d have to spend the night in jail.
I told them I’d have to phone my lawyer and I started dialling a fictitious number. They let me go and told me never to forget my driver’s licence again. It seems these people work together like a well-oiled machine to try and extort bribes from an unsuspecting public.
Having witnessed the efficiency of the British police in London, I can only wonder how many decades it will take for us to catch up. Do I have respect for the SAPS or JMPD? I think not.
