It has been a long time since I leopard-crawled with bullets cracking over my head. That's what I was doing last night.
This time the people pulling the triggers were supposed to be on the same side - the Joburg metro police and the SAPS. But they were out to kill each other.
I was part of a crowd standing about listening to a senior metro cop trying to get protesting colleagues to listen to him - with little success. There had been toyi-toying, good-natured banter - even a drill display by a platoon of metro cops.
But it all turned ominous when the SAPS arrived. They brandished shotguns and wore body armour. Some were clearly game for a scrap.
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They were taken aback when they noticed the metro cops were armed and loaded.
"We've also got guns," was the chant, which didn't sound good.
The SAPS withdrew to a safe distance. They made two false charges over the next hour, only to withdraw when some metro cops drew their weapons.
So, when they finally made a push for real, we - the spectators - were taken by surprise and went to ground.
I don't know what happened next - I had my chin on the tar - but at least 200 shots must have been fired, including automatic weapons fire.
I made it back to my car just as people in front of me decided to make a break for it. I followed suit, dodging the debris of the roadblock.
I didn't take a good look at what was going on, but did see an SAPS officer fire his shotgun at the crowd running down the Eloff Street onramp.
- This article was originally published on page 1 of The Star on June 26, 2008
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