An altercation at a lodge in Muldersdrift quickly took a severe turn which resulted in gym owner, Len Cloete, being shot in the head by a police officer.
Cloete had reportedly been arguing with staff and management at the lodge and was asked to leave. The SAPS arrived with the intention to remove Cloete from the premises, but the situation escalated very quickly.
In a video of the incident, Cloete was seen shouting at police, and then disarmed a police officer. Another cop at the scene then fired a single shot that hit Cloete in the head.
Also read: What we know about the Cloete case A.K.A the man shot in the head by a cop
Recently, a former Durban police officer-turned-private-investigator, Brad Nathanson, said the situation could’ve been handled differently, but explains that he would have reacted the same way officers did.
A Tik Tok user’s racist rant also went viral after responding to the shooting, where he could be heard repeatedly using the K-word and calling black people ‘parasites’, but has issued an apology since.
Also read: Friend defends Len Cloete’s character as “the purest soul”
Meanwhile, the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) confirmed on Friday that cases of discharging of a firearm and attempted murder are currently under investigation, reports IOL.
Ipid spokesperson Grace Langa said that there has been no reason to arrest any of the police officers who were at the scene, or the police officers seen shooting Cloete in the video.
“At this stage, the people [police officers] are not giving a problem. In fact, they are cooperating with our investigation. No witness has been threatened and as I said, the law enforcement officers are complying with our investigations,” she said as per IOL.
This is a developing story.
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Picture: Screenshot from video