Warrant Officer Balan Muthan, head of communication for the Douglasdale Police Station, has cautioned residents to be careful of what they say and how they say it to police officers.
This comes in the wake of an incident involving real estate agent, Vicki Momberg, who was captured on video in February, hurling insults at black police officers after she had been involved in a smash-and-grab incident in North Riding.
In the video, which went viral on social media, Momberg used the k-word and called the black officers arrogant and useless, however, the video depicted the officers remaining calm and restrained.
To justify her actions, Momberg later said she was traumatised by the incident.
Muthan explained that police officers have been trained to accept a certain amount of abuse when attending to a complaint. “When members of the community become racist to police officers, they will liable for prosecution and necessary steps will be taken against them,” he said.
“If you treat our officers with dignity and respect, they will treat you with dignity and respect as well.”
The Human Rights Commission has laid charges against Momberg with the Equality Court. She will face crimen injuria charges when she appears in the Randburg District Court on 14 July.
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