Under the leadership of Lieutenant-General Bongiwe Zulu, the SAPS has trained and deployed 20 000 police officers to various stations and units in the last two years. Picture: Neil McCartney
Mountain Rise police watched on as four of their vehicles parked at the station were seized by the sheriff on Thursday. On Friday, they frantically sought to dispute and halt matters before the vehicles were auctioned off.
“Police in KwaZulu-Natal would like to assure the residents of Mountain Rise and the surrounding precincts which are policed by the Mountain Rise Police Station that policing services are continuing unhindered,” claimed spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda.
“Although only one of the seized vehicles was roadworthy, the legal department of the police was bemused to hear about the presence of a sheriff at the police station, whilst the matter was not yet finalised.”
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He said the seizure of the vehicles did not comply with the State Liability Act and the police’s legal team was out to ensure the law would be followed to the letter.
“The matter emanated from a 2018 case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm where the suspect claimed that he was wrongfully arrested and detained,” Netshiunda added.
Speaking to the 3 000 commissioned officers in Durban on Tuesday, the Provincial Commissioner of KwaZulu-Natal Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi implored all commanders to make it their top priority to drastically reduce civil claims against the police and take proportional steps against police officers who incur civil claims against Saps due to “negligence and unbecoming actions”.
“Honest mistakes will happen during the execution of policing activities. We have a delicate balance to maintain as police officers during the execution of our duties,” Mkhwanazi said.
“However, police officers who use excessive force unnecessarily and those who ignore the basic principles of policing and attract lawsuits against the organisation must dance to the tunes of their actions.
“With many people targeting the police service as a low hanging fruit to institute civil claims against, our police officers will continue to tread on thin lines to ensure that perpetrators of crime are brought to justice.”
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Unlawful arrest and detention, as well as vehicle collisions are the most generators of civil claims in the police in KwaZulu-Natal. On Tuesday, commanders were tasked to put plans in place to save state money that is lost to litigation.
Netshiunda said with the identified discrepancies in the execution of the court order in the Mountain Rise matter, South African Police Service Legal Services officers are confident that the seized vehicles will be released to the custody of the police to make way for an amicable solution to the matter.
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