Good cops deserve all the respect we can give them

The South African Police Service (Saps), as an entity, has a generally bad reputation. It comes down to the old adage, one rotten apple spoils the barrel, which is as unfair as it is true.

The problem is corruption has tarred with the same brush the many good cops who joined Saps as a calling. There are also many claims of heavy-handedness and brutality, often from those who would prefer not to be arrested.

ALSO READ: VIP cops: Cele breaks his silence on assault of civilians

Of course, supposedly elite and highly trained goons kicking the stuffing out of people on the highway while abandoning their principal is not the way to set a good example to the juniors entering the police now.

However, we have to acknowledge that the police are not there to pat someone’s hand when they have committed a crime or to ask nicely for someone to stop breaking the law. And it was a joy to see one such cop in action on Wednesday.

Like most of us, my road to work is fraught with no traffic lights, no road lines and terrible surfaces dominated by the Do-What-We-Want taxi industry.

ALSO READ: VIP cops: Court hears ‘star witness’ in N1 assault case still unidentified

After I went through a dead traffic light, a car approaching from the side, jumped his turn and nearly smacked into the car following me. He swerved into the Rea Vaya lane and shot off, a little later swerving back into the road proper, generally behaving as if the road belonged to him and the rest of us were an inconvenience.

Until the traffic light stopped all of us, a police bakkie pulled up next to him and a mountain-sized cop climbed out. Pointing at the driver, the cop told him to open his passenger door and climbed in, the errant driver’s car sagging visibly.

With the cop bakkie following, the car turned the corner and was pulled over on the side of the road where I believe a royal rollocking may have ensued. There were no smiles or waves when the cop climbed in the car, more of an angry glare and my impression was he was less than impressed by the driver’s “skills” or road ownership.

ALSO READ: Cops launch manhunt for gang after mass shooting in Umlazi, KZN

In a potential accident-causing position myself, I had to drive past and the last thing I saw was the driver cowering in his seat with the towering cop exiting the car.

Tactically, was it a good idea? Probably not. It could have been handled very differently: pointing his firearm at the driver, making him switch off his car, hand the keys out of the door, yanking him out of the car, making him lie on the ground, handcuffing him and so on and so forth.

But it all happened in the space of what felt like two seconds and even if the cocky driver had thought of taking on the living embodiment of the Drakensberg, I suspect it would have gone badly for him.

And this is what we need to see more of. Not behaving illegally, not beating people up, but enforcing the law. Police have wide-ranging powers and not everyone has to be arrested, not everyone gets to be fined, but if you’re not going to respect a police official then, as the sanitary version of the FAFO meme goes, stuff around and find out.

ALSO READ: Manhunt underway for two suspects after deadly shootout with cops in Inanda

There are great cops out there who love not their jobs, but the power to effect positive change in people’s lives.

And while a fish can’t be praised for swimming, the good guys and gals who keep plugging away at maintaining law and order despite cripplingly bad management deserve all the respect we can give them.