Police were left rattled after thieves brazenly walked into a satellite police station at Sir Lowry’s Pass near Somerset West, walking off with two 9mm service pistols, three cellphones and a laptop computer, reports EWN.
The incident occurred on Saturday, October 23, at around 9m. According to police spokesperson Andre Traut, the two officers were held at gunpoint and disarmed, stating: “they disarmed the police members and fled with two 9mm service pistols, three cellular telephones and a laptop computer. The members were fortunately not injured during the incident.”
The Hawks have since launched a massive manhunt for the three suspects, reports Times Live. However, the Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union (POPCRU) had a few words to say, releasing a statement regarding what they refer to as “an attack on the community”:
“This brazen attack is part of a continued sequence of attacks targeted at law enforcement officers across different provinces, having left many officers either injured or deceased. They take place at a time when the criminal justice cluster is faced with many internal challenges, including understaffing and the lack of sufficient resources in efficiently servicing communities, and therefore further fuelling avoidable tensions between the two.”
“Any attack on police stations is an attack on the community, as it diminishes the communities’ and law enforcement agencies’ capacity to defend and fight off criminality. It is always in the best interest of all parties to work together in keeping our communities as safe spaces, and in this regard, we call for improved community-policing relations as a basis for joint efforts to end crime,” it continued.
The robbery occurred mere hours after Police Minister Bheki Cele launched the Western Cape’s safer season and the country in Blue initiative in Khayelitsha on Saturday.
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Picture: Cape {town} Etc Gallery
