By Everson Luhanga
- The police arrested a man for drugs before the crowd threw rocks and bottles at them.
- Officers fired a warning shot and ran away. No one was hurt and no police cars were damaged.
A group of angry people chased police officers out of Westbury on Tuesday.
The officers, from the Anti-Gang Unit, were near the Newclare swimming pools in Johannesburg when the crowd turned on them.
A video shows young people running after the police as they try to get away.
Police boss General Fannie Masemola said the unit was in the area doing stop-and-search work when they found a man with drugs.
They arrested him, but then some people in the community started throwing rocks and bottles at the officers.
Masemola said the police had to run away to protect themselves and the people around them.
He said it was shocking that the same community that always complains about drugs and gangs would attack police trying to help.
“People in Westbury often complain about crime. But when we try to stop it, they fight us,” he said.
“We cannot allow this. The police will keep doing their job with or without support.”
He said no one was hurt because police fired a warning shot and got away safely.
Masemola told the Anti-Gang Unit not to give up. He said they must keep fighting gangs and drug dealers.
The unit works in places with lots of gang crime. In Gauteng, they are sent to areas like Eldorado Park, Westbury, Moffat View, South Hills, Mohlakeng, Toekomsrus, and Sophiatown.
Pictured above: A screenshot from a video where police ran from a crowd in Westbury, Johannesburg.
Image source: National SAPS
