Customer
killed during robbery: Police have ‘more important things to do’
According to a witness who went to report the
matter, an officer at Kempton Park Police Station told him he had more
important things to do
Nolwazi Dhlamini | 16 October 2014 07:33
AN eyewitness to an armed robbery in which an
innocent customer was killed, was brushed off by Kempton Park SAPS. According
to Shannon, when he went to report the matter at Kempton Park Police Station, a
police officer in uniform told him “he had more important things to do”.
The innocent man was shot in the head and killed
during the armed robbery on August 27 at African Café on the corner of
Casuarina and Maxwell streets in the central business district.
“The officer at the station told me he had to
report to his cluster first and only after that he could assist me. He said he
had more important matters to deal with, even after I told him there was a
shooting and a man had been shot in the head,” Shannon recounted the story.
He continued: “The police only arrived at the scene
after I had called ward councillor Jaco Terblanche on his cell.”
According to Kempton Park SAPS spokesman, Capt
Jethro Mtshali, it was about 6.10pm when four armed men entered the shop. They
demanded money from the shop owner, after which a struggle ensued between them.
During the course of the struggle a man, who had just entered the shop, was
shot in the head.
Shannon said when he and the shop owner tried
calling 10111, they were put through to a person who didn’t know where Kempton
Park was. A black police detective van passed by but did not stop.
Unfortunately the police could not comment on this as the registration number
of the vehicle was unknown.
“I saw a metro police car going past and ran onto
the road and managed to stop the officers, who called for an ambulance. Just
after that I saw the black vehicle drive past. I tried to stop the guy but he
just sped away and didn’t want to stop.”
According to Mtshali, the matter will be internally
investigated.
“The complaint of poor service from the witness has
been forwarded to the station commander, Brig Johannes Marx, who will conduct
an internal investigation into the matter and corrective measures will be
taken,” Mtshali said.
A case of murder and business robbery was opened
and the investigation is continuing.
