Following the article, What to do when pulled over by Metro police officers, published week ending 2 June in Fourways Review, community members have raised their concerns about recognising genuine police officers.
According to Metro police spokesperson, Superintendent Wayne Minnaar, patrol officers who are on patrol duty drive visibly marked Metro police vehicles. “If you see a police traffic vehicle that is marked and it pulls you over, my advice to you is to stop immediately,” Minnaar said.
He added that if an undercover police officer driving an unmarked vehicle stops motorists, they have the right to ask for an appointment card which has the police officer’s name and number as well as the department that the police officer works for.
“By asking for an appointment card, this will help identify a genuine police officer from a bogus one.”
He further added that if motorists have any doubts or are pulled over by a clearly unmarked traffic police vehicle, they have the right to drive to the nearest police station for safety.
“I can, however, safely say that we have traffic officers who are on duty, who arrest these bogus cops. It is not likely that you will come across bogus cops because we are eradicating the matter.”
Minnaar concluded that motorists must not break the rules of the road. “If motorists obey the road rules, we will be able to reduce the number of accidents we have on our roads. It is also important to comply with police officers when pulled over.”
