Durban — The Provincial Commissioner in Kwa-Zulu Natal (KZN), Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi, is set to investigate and follow the proper disciplinary steps after a video showed a police officer assaulting a man.
In the video, residents and police officers are standing in the streets in Durban when one of the officers approaches a citizen to talk to him before slapping him across the face. He then grabs the man by his shirt and punches him in the face again before his colleague intervenes and pulls him away. While it is unclear what is being said in the video, the incident was seemingly escalated by the police officers’ actions.
WATCH BELOW:
Police officer caught on camera beating up a man. pic.twitter.com/hqTVQxxwsH
— MDN NEWS (@MDNnewss) November 12, 2024
In a statement, Mkhwanazi said that police officers are not above the law and the SAPS uniform does not give any officer the power to disregard the law. He said if the man in the video had committed a crime, police should have detained or arrested the man.
“The act of assaulting another person is a criminal offence and the police officer who was seen assaulting a civilian in the video should face the music. We cannot allow a situation where the gains of hard-working police officers are reversed by unprofessional conduct of certain individuals within our ranks,” Mkhwanazi said,
He added that fighting crime starts from within and the officer who was involved in the assault, has dented the image of the police and further plummeted the trust in the police. He said exemplary measures would be taken.
KZN police spokesperson, Colonel Robert Netshiunda, said police officers act as servants of the public and as such should treat their clients with respect.
“Community members are encouraged to continue reporting any abuse of power by police so that unprofessional conduct can be addressed and corrected,” he said.
#sapsKZN PC, Lt Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has ordered an immediate investigation and proper disciplinary steps to be taken against a police officer who was seen assaulting a man in a video which has gone viral on social media.
Lieutenant General Mkhwanazi said that police… pic.twitter.com/vVN7wkweEg
— SA Police Service 🇿🇦 (@SAPoliceService) November 12, 2024
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Compiled by Matthew Petersen
