Since 2001 when Joburg’s Metro police department was formed, 45 officers have been killed. But the shocking four deaths this year already has the department and its chief, David Tembe, very concerned.
This concern was amplified as yet another Metro police employee, a part-time traffic warden, was shot and killed on 16 February while attempting to halt an armed robbery.
His death followed that of officer Azwinndini David Ratshikhopa who died on 14 February of a fatal head wound after trying to stop a hijacking.
Executive Mayor Herman Mashaba is still offering R100 000 for information that will lead to the arrest of the suspect(s).
Two other female Metro police officers died on duty on Witkoppen Road near Montecasino late January. They were driven into by an alleged drunk driver at a roadblock.
Throughout the years, barring 2014, no more than four or five officers died every year.
Tembe, speaking at a media briefing on 19 February, said there is a need for refresher course training so that officers do not put themselves in harm’s way.
“I have vowed to stop the killing of our officers,” he said.
“A special task team has been established consisting of Joburg Metro police members, who will work undercover together with South African police, the City’s Group Forensic [Investigation] Unit and other law enforcement agencies to arrest the perpetrators of these heinous crimes.”
Tembe said that Metro police should also build a better presence in the community. He said people, and especially schoolchildren, should be informed of what the officers do and this would possibly promote a positive image of officers.
“We should protect the people of Johannesburg and make sure they are safe.”
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