A BEREA police officer may have saved more than a few lives with his years of police service and persuasive communication skills which helped him pry a loaded a gun from a drunken passenger en-route to Johannesburg on Friday night.
According to Captain PN Naidoo, communications officer at Berea, the incident occurred outside the Berea station on Botanic Gardens Road on Friday night.
Captain Thomas Naidoo, who was working at the Berea SAPS community service centre was approached by a distressed long distance taxi driver around eight that evening. “The driver complained about a drunk passenger in his taxi who allegedly pulled out a firearm, cocked it and was pointing the firearm at the rest of the passengers and refused to put it away while they were filling up at a petrol station in Windermere,” explained Naidoo.
Naidoo rushed down to where the taxi was parked and found the suspect standing outside the taxi with a pistol in his right hand still pointing the firearm towards motorists as they passed on Botanic Gardens Road. “I identified myself as a policeman and calmly asked him to hand over the firearm to me. He refused at first and I again ordered him to hand it over and finally he handed the loaded firearm to me,” said the officer.
The highly intoxicated suspect tried to explain that he was the owner of the firearm and was helped up to the station.
The suspect who is believed to be from Hillbrow in Johannesburg was searched and found to be in possession of four rounds of special 38 ammunition, three magazines containing about 45 rounds of ammunition, two magazines loaded with ammunition found in a magazine pouch on the inside of his belt and the third was in the Taurus firearm. He was also in possession of an old firearm licence and an expired licence to possess a firearm.
He was arrested, charged with pointing of a firearm, possession of a licensed firearm and live rounds of ammunition whilst under the influence of liquor and unlawful possession of the four 38. special rounds of ammunition and detained at Durban Central police station.
Captain Naidoo said he appreciated the safety measures the taxi driver undertook to protect his passengers and safely deal with the volatile situation. “It is always best to involve the police and not take matters into your own hands in volatile situations. I’m glad that a long standing member at our station used his professional experience as a police officer to calm the situation and safely recover the firearm. Well done to Captain Thomas Naidoo,” he added.
