Police refutes wrongful arrest allegations

The arrest of three Beagle Watch Security reaction officers in January this year after an alleged shootout with suspected cable thieves made waves throughout the community, as well as the security industry.

According to the initial reports received by the Roodepoort Northsider, the security officers were dispatched to the vicinity of Pranticole Street, where they came upon suspects who appeared to be illegally digging for electrical cable.

The reaction officers, after keeping an eye on the suspects for a while, decided to approach them.

When the suspects noticed the approaching security officers, they allegedly opened fire on them, prompting the security officers to return fire, wounding three suspects in the process.

According to Beagle Watch Security, their staff followed all the correct procedures and notified the police.

Once police arrived at the scene, however, a decision was made to have the wounded transported to the hospital and to arrest the three security officers on suspicion of attempted murder.

• Read the initial article here: Arrested for doing their jobs

The reaction officers were taken into custody, initially being held at Honeydew Police Station, and were later transported to Roodepoort Police Station, where they were due to appear in court.

Beagle Watch’s legal representative, after talks with the prosecutor, at the time reported that the prosecutor decided to not go ahead with the charge of attempted murder against the three officers.

Beagle Watch says they have, since then, been trying to get more information from the Honeydew police regarding this case to clear up what they believe to be the wrongful arrest of their officers.

The Northsider, after failed attempts to engage with the police’s district spokesperson, Captain Tsietsi Phora, managed to secure a meeting with Honeydew Police Station Commander, Brigadier Maharaj.

According to Maharaj, there are several discrepancies between the evidence available and the version of events as told by the reaction officers.

“A lot of this cannot be divulged as it is part of an active, ongoing investigation,” says Maharaj.

“What I can say is that the case was at no point scrapped from the court roll. It was merely not added to the roll to allow for further investigation into the matter.

“The prosecutor commended police officers for their conduct on the day and ordered further investigation into specific aspects of the case.

“These investigations include ballistic and DNA testing and the tracing of the victims among other things, and are currently underway.

“A detective has been assigned to, and is working on the case.”

Maharaj adds that the police cannot be expected to keep, what they at this stage consider to be suspects in the case, abreast of their investigation.

“Only once investigations are concluded and the case goes to court, will the docket be made available to the suspects, so that they may prepare their defence.”

Maharaj has wholeheartedly rejected allegations against his police officers at the scene, as well as about the Honeydew police’s handling of the investigation.

“We are obliged to follow the letter of the law. Some processes must be followed. Unfortunately, some of these processes can take some time to conclude. I am convinced that my officers used their best judgment to ensure that this case was dealt with properly. Our investigation is ongoing and will be concluded once all required evidence is collected.”