VIDEO: Cops in court for allegedly gunning down teenager with Down syndrome

The two police officers arrested on Friday in connection with the fatal shooting of 16-year-old Down syndrome teenager Nathaniel Julies are expected to appear in the Protea Magistrate’s Court on Monday. 

The officers are being charged with murder, possession of prohibited ammunition, and possibly for defeating the ends of justice, Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Ndileka Cola said in a statement on Friday. 

The two officers are attached to the Eldorado Park crime prevention unit.

Julies was shot with a packet of biscuits in his hands in Eldorado Park on Wednesday evening, while hiding from a group of children he thought were trying to steal his treats, according to his stepfather Clint Smith. 

Smith told the media on Thursday that he was unable to communicate to police after being asked why he was hiding due to his disability. 

Eyewitness accounts then point to a policeman getting out of his car, walking towards Nathaniel, and shooting him once in the chest. 

He was allegedly taken to Chris Hani Bardgwanath Hospital by police, and was pronounced dead on arrival. It is alleged that the police officers told doctors that Julies had been involved in a gang fight. 

Julies’ death prompted intense protest action in Eldorado Park. Police fired rubber bullets, the Eldorado Park police station was vandalised, and two SAPS officers and a JMPD officer were wounded in the protests.

(Compiled by Nica Richards)

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