Sandiso Phaliso
DISSATISFIED with escalating crime, Westlake residents cornered two suspected criminals, locked them in a container and threatened to set them alight on Monday night, but police moved swiftly, saving them and dispersing the crowd with rubber bullets and stun grenades.
Police spokesman André Traut said the two suspects were recently arrested for robbery but were released on bail.
Westlake community leader Asanda Mpendu said the residents’ frustrations were caused by their release and they decided to hunt them down.
Traut said police immediately responded to contain the situation and forcefully removed the two being held in the container.
“This caused the community to become riotous by throwing stones at the police officers and their vehicles, resulting in a police officer being hit on his head with a stone and a police vehicle being seriously damaged.”
Traut said police retaliated by firing warning shots and eventually managed to disperse the crowd.
The injured police officer was taken to Constantia Hospital, where he was reported to be in a stable condition.
One resident was arrested for malicious damage to property in relation to the stoning of the police officer and the damaging of the police van, said Traut.
The arrest of the resident prompted residents to march to the Kirstenhof Police Station demanding his release, but police retaliated by firing rubber bullets to disperse the crowd.
Mpendu told the Cape Times that last week residents had identified two known criminals and told their parents their children should move away from the area because the residents did not want to take the law into their own hands. “But we saw them again this weekend and we decided to track them down,” Mpendu said.
“They were locked in a container and beaten, but police came and saved them. There was a scuffle and police shot at us, but later we regrouped and went to the police station to demand the release of a resident that was arrested.
“We are tired of crime and we have lost trust in the police because criminals are arrested and released the same night, thus people are now taking the law into their own hands,” she said.
@PhalisoSandiso