Hijacked by ‘JMPD’ men
"How are you expected to obey the law and respect the police if this sort of thing happens?"
A man, 38, was the victim of a hijacking after being asked to pull over at what seemed to be a JMPD roadblock.
Frans Matthysen didn’t suspect foul play when apparent Metro Police officers motioned him to pull over while he was travelling along 14th Avenue back to his workplace in Florida at around 6pm on Sunday evening (7 December).
“Without thinking much of it, I pulled over when the officers asked me to; what happened next, happened so quickly that I had no time to verify their identities,” Matthysen told the record.
“After I was stopped, one of the officers pointed a firearm at me and overpowered me, pushing me back into the vehicle and getting behind the wheel.
“A second officer got into the passenger seat.”
Matthysen was driving a white Nissan Hardbody that is registered to the company that he works for.
“They sped off with me in the vehicle towards Featherbrooke Estate,” Matthysen said.
Near a garage on Hole In One Avenue the ‘officers’ pulled over themselves and started searching the vehicle for valuables.
“I protested when they started rummaging through things in the bakkie,” Matthysen said, who had work-related equipment and tools in the vehicle.
“They told me to shut up or they would shoot me, so I did.”
Matthysen claimed he was assaulted and said he feared for his life. After he was pushed out of the vehicle he ran towards the nearest filling station to find help. The ‘officers’ drove off with the bakkie, his laptop, ID documents, wallet, tools and equipment of which the total value is around R250 000.
The identities of the so-called Metro Police ‘officers’ have not been confirmed yet, but Matthysen and his family remain adamant that they were real policemen.
“Where they signalled me to pull over, it looked like a roadblock. There were other officers on the scene in full uniform as well and official-looking Metro Police vehicles with full decals ― I have no doubt in my mind that these were true Metro Police officers.”
“How can you be expected to obey the law and respect the police if this sort of thing happens?”
Matthysen opened a case with the Roodepoort Police.
Related articles:
- Lots and lots of roadblocks, says JMPD
- JMPD’s targeted fine collection disgusting — JPSA
- Fines4u wins judgement against JMPD
