Durban — A disciplinary process is under way for a police officer who was arrested after being caught on camera driving negligently on a highway in KwaZulu-Natal.
KZN police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda said that in what appears to be cellphone footage which has gone viral on social media, a marked police van could be seen driving at high speed, disregarding the rules of the road and bumping other vehicles in the process.
The incident happened along the N3 in Pietermaritzburg.
Netshiunda said the officer, a 35-year-old sergeant who is stationed at Newcastle K9, was arrested on January 13, 2023, on charges of drunken and negligent driving.
“Internal disciplinary actions have already been instituted against him and the process is ongoing,” Netshiunda said.
In the video, believed to have been taken in broad daylight on the N3 towards Pietermaritzburg, down Ashburton/Lynnfield Park, a SAPS van can be seen swerving and driving recklessly between lanes.
The vehicle also bumps into a double cab but keeps on going.
KZN police commissioner Lieutenant-General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi applauded the community member who took the video.
Mkhwanazi strongly condemned the actions of the sergeant, who was on duty at the time, and called his behaviour “barbaric, unprofessional and uncalled for”. He said that there is no space for police officers who disregard the law and become the law unto themselves.
“Police officers carry the hopes of the nation and we cannot afford to have members within our ranks whose behaviour and actions seek to reverse all the gains that hard-working police officers have attained in restoring people’s trust in the police.
“His actions are totally against what we stand for as the police in this province and applicable disciplinary actions will be meted against him. His case study will serve as a deterrent to other police officers who might have been having delusional thoughts that police’s internal disciplinary actions have gone soft,” Mkhwanazi said.
He also called on community members to continue exposing and reporting the unprofessional behaviour of on-duty police officers.
“No police officer must transport his children to and from school using a state vehicle, no police officer is allowed to do shopping with a state vehicle. Such rogue elements must be reported and proportionate actions will be taken against those who trespass the prescripts of the service. Police officers must uphold professional standards at all times and state resources, including vehicles and other tools of policing, must be used with responsibility and be properly managed without fail,” Mkhwanazi said.
Police said that all unprofessional police behaviours, illegal actions and a disservice to the community can be reported via the Crime Stop number 08600 10111. Anonymous tip-offs can also be relayed via the MySAPS App.
Daily News