Johannesburg - A Soweto police officer has been arrested for allegedly robbing a woman in a parking lot in Pretoria.
The 40-year-old man, who was arrested last weekend, was later thrown in the cells but he allegedly assaulted other awaiting-trial prisoners, prompting the police to take him to hospital for mental observation.
Gauteng police spokesman Lieutenant-Colonel Lungelo Dlamini confirmed that the officer, who is stationed at Diepkloof Police Station, is facing a charge of common robbery.
Allegations are that the constable had confronted a woman in the parking lot of Unisa on Friday morning, taking her wallet and cellphones.
Although the man carries a service pistol as a crime prevention officer, Dlamini said he did not have it on him at the time of the incident.
Security guards patrolling the parking lot saw what was happening and rushed to the scene. The officer was arrested and taken to the Sunnyside police station.
“All the stolen goods were handed back to the victim during the arrest,” Dlamini said.
It is alleged that, once in the cells, the officer started being violent, screaming and banging on the cell doors.
”He became violent, behaved strangely and assaulted other people. It appeared as if he was mentally ill. Paramedics were summoned and advised police that he must be taken to the hospital for mental observation. He is still at the hospital under police guard. He will be taken to court within 48 hours while police are still waiting for a medical report.”
A source, who did not want to be identified, said the officer is a student at Unisa and that he had followed the woman to the parking lot with the intention of hijacking her.
There was a commotion when the officer fought to get inside the woman’s car. He took the woman’s cellphones, wallet and car keys.
“The driver was screaming and the security guards arrived and called the police,” the source said, adding that the keys were later found in the officer’s possession.
The source added that the officer had, while in the cells, started “acting crazy”, screaming, hitting the police and another suspect who was in the cells, banging on the burglar door of the cells, breaking things.
Dlamini denied the man hit the officers. “He only hit the people in the cells,” he said.
Dlamini confirmed that the officer faced a charge of theft of a canopy at Diepkloof last year, but that it was later withdrawn.
He said departmental steps will be taken against the officer.
The Star