WATCH: Cop draws gun during argument at Centurion mall
The officer went to find out what was happening because he considered that the argument could become physical, the police have said.
Cop points gun at men at Centurion mall
No criminal case has been opened in an incident caught on camera, in which a police officer, holding his firearm, was confronted by a group of men at a shopping centre in Centurion on Tuesday.
In the video, which has been shared on social media, a group of men can be seen confronting another man in plain clothes, holding a firearm.
The men confront the armed man, asking that he put the firearm away.
The man retorts by saying he is a policeman.
“You are not a policeman, show us the card, don’t show us the gun,” one man is heard shouting.
The man then moves towards his car, opens the boot, takes out his wallet, and shows what appears to be police identification.
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While doing this, the man says that he was trying to stop a fight.
Another man responds by saying: “You didn’t show us the card before.”
Police spokesperson Captain Mavela Masondo said the incident happened on 1 June at the Eldo Square shopping centre.
“According to him and another police officer, who was also at the scene, apparently there was an altercation, a verbal argument, between a group of people from the shopping centre,” Masondo said.
“The officer went to find out what was happening because he considered that the argument could become physical.”
The two groups, who knew each other, then allegedly turned on the police officer.
The officer drew his firearm because the group started to approach and wanted to attack him, Masondo said.
He added that the police officer did not point the firearm at anyone.
Masondo said another police officer, who was at the scene, then intervened.
At that point, everyone involved went to the police station, where it was verified that the man with the firearm was a police officer.
“It was resolved at the police station. No one opened a case [against the police officer], and the police officer didn’t open a case [against the group].”
This police officer was involved in a heated argument with some locals in Eldo Square Eldoraigne. It is unconfirmed what it was about. @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/rBBjQHEg1r
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) June 3, 2021
