Douglasdale cops in hot water again
THE STAR
Johannesburg - Douglasdale police are investigating a case in which
officers allegedly refused to help a restaurant manager who wanted to lay a
charge against their colleague.
The manager took a video of the incident, which was posted online this
week by a user who goes by the name of Pmaros.
The amateurish video, which was posted on LiveLeak.com on Monday, shows
the officers refusing to open the case when the manager would not identify
himself at the police station.
According to LiveLeak, a customer at the restaurant refused to settle a
R175 bill and the manager called the police. When two Douglasdale police
officers arrived, they allegedly told him he could not open a case because R175
was too small an amount for the work that needed to be done.
The manager then asked the officers to identity themselves, but only one
of them did. The unidentified officer allegedly said the manager was drunk,
despite his offering to take a Breathalyser test.
When the manager went to the police station to try to open a case
against the officers, the captain on duty refused to provide the identity of
the unidentified officer. He also refused to identify himself.
On the video, the manager is heard questioning why his own identity is
needed in the matter, but the police fail to provide a substantial reason.
Justice Project South Africa chairman Howard Dembovsky said: “The
Douglasdale police station is the most appalling police station, in my view.
The station should be shut down and all the officers fired.”
The conduct of Douglasdale police officers was also condemned by
crime-fighting organisation eBlockwatch founder Andre Snyman.
“This is very disheartening for the dedicated police officers and the
Community Policing Forum members who work thanklessly to try to lift the
standard of policing at the police stations,” he said in the local newspaper,
the Fourways Review.
