A 44-year-old police sergeant was shot dead with his service pistol by a domestic violence suspect in Mamre, a small rural town about 55km north of Cape Town.
Western Cape SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Novela Potelwa said police have launched a manhunt for the suspect who killed the sergeant on Wednesday.
“Preliminary information suggests that the victim and his partner were dispatched to attend to a domestic violence complaint. On arrival at the address, the suspect allegedly took the service pistol of the deceased police official during a scuffle and wounded him fatally,” she said.
The suspect also tried to shoot the sergeant’s partner before fleeing on foot.
Lindelwa Fuba of Langa said she feels sorry for the officer’s family.
“Being an officer is getting harder and more dangerous every day. Imagine attending a domestic violence complaint and then getting attacked. It shows how sick men are. I hope he rots in jail for what he did,” said Fuba.
“He’s a monster, and it is clear that the officer didn’t think that the suspect would take his gun, so he allowed him to come close to him.”
Another resident, speaking anonymously, said people don’t fear the police anymore.
“This shows how some community members disrespect the SAPS. The same people we want to protect us are being killed and they are doing this because they know they won’t stay in jail long. Our law is weak,” said the resident.
Western Cape police provincial commissioner Lieutenant-General Thembisile Patekile said it was disheartening that a police official responding to a complaint was shot with his service pistol.
“Police are there to protect community members. They should not come under attack,” said Patekile.
Pictured above: Police tape.
Image source: File
