INLSA

Penny Katz of Durban is drumming up public support for her heroes  members of the Cato Manor organised crime unit, who may be suspended from their jobs. Picture: Marilyn Bernard

The mother of the victim of a serious crime has started a Facebook site in support of the Cato Manor organised crime unit policemen who are under threat of suspension, allegedly for operating a “death squad”.

“These guys are my heroes,” said Penny Katz, a Morningside mother of four.

“They kept me calm and sane, and they keep in touch to this day, asking how I am and how my daughter is coping.

“I get shivers just talking about them, and it’s shocking what is happening to them.”

The unit has in effect been shut down by Hawks head Anwa Dramat, and 10 members have been served with notices of intention to suspend them, based on allegations that they used “excessive force” in incidents in which suspects have been shot dead in the past three years.

The head of the unit – Hawks provincial boss Major-General Johan Booysen – has also been served with a similar notice and is heading to court this morning to challenge it.

The policemen have engaged an attorney to respond to the notices, but have been informed that they have to pay their own legal fees.

This, Katz said, was also unfair, as then-police commissioner Jackie Selebi’s legal fees had been funded by the state. This was until his appeal against his corruption failed.

Regarding the allegations that the policemen used excessive force, Katz said it seemed politicians believed officers should die, and not defend themselves, when dealing with suspects involved in serious crimes.

“I spoke to one of their wives. She was crying. She was telling me how she never knows if her husband is coming home. They have spent their lives fighting crime and now they are told they cannot protect themselves.

“I set up the site yesterday and have been blown away by the response. They don’t have the money (to fight their suspensions) so this is the least I can do. One man has donated R10 000.”

Yesterday, messages, some with pledges of donations, were flooding into the page.

One contributor also started a “stop the suspension of needed policemen” petition.

The policemen expect to hear within days whether they have been suspended. If they are, it means the cases they investigated, which are due to go before the court, will grind to a halt.

Their attorney, Carl van der Merwe, said while they would be expected to testify at trials, they would not be allowed to carry out their duties.