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Police officers in standoff with residents

These officers were trying to intimidate the shop owners and trying to solicit bribes from them.

A group of police officers were nearly attacked and their vehicles damaged by an angry crowd in Toekomsrus on Diamond Street on 7 January at approximately 12.30pm.

This comes after the officers allegedly tried to solicit bribes from two foreign nationals who run a spaza shop in the area.

According to West Rand Cope leader Solly May who witnessed the incident, the police officers conducted a search at the shop and started becoming violent toward the shopkeepers for no apparent reason.

“We’ve got it on good authority that these officers were trying to intimidate the shop owners and trying to solicit bribes from them,” says May.

“As a community, we decided to intervene.”

According to May, the community were fuming and demanded that the officers be arrested.

“Tempers flared and it took a lot of persuasion to get people to calm down,” says May.

“The people of Toekomsrus are clearly fed-up with corruption.”

Randfontein SAPS spokesperson, Captain Appel Ernst denies that the officers were seeking bribes from the shopkeepers, and says that officers went to the shop acting on a tip-off.

“The police received information regarding illegal cigarettes at the tuck shop and decided to investigate,” says Ernst.

“Upon their arrival at the shop, the owners refused them entry to the shop and locked all the doors.

“The officers managed to access into the shop and arrested the two men for obstructing police officers in their duty, before placing them in theback of a police van.”

She adds that residents of the area started fuming and demanded that the two suspects be released.

“The crowd became aggressive and closed in on the police officers at the scene.

“A police vehicle was damaged during the incident.

“Members of the public order unit had to be called out to disperse the crowd and restore peace,” says Ernst.

A case of maliscious damage to property was opened and two of the shop owners, aged 21 and 33-years-old were arrested and detained.

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