Cape Town - Three police officers have been suspended after allegations emerged that they stood by and did nothing as a mob in Delft meted out “justice” to a man who later died, the City of Cape Town said on Wednesday.
“The officers have been suspended until the investigation is concluded,” executive director for safety and security Richard Bosman said.
He could not clarify if they were metro police officers, referring to them only as law enforcement officers.
Earlier, The New Age newspaper published still images of CCTV footage showing the victim, who was accused of theft, being sjambokked by a woman.
In another image, police officers are seen standing by watching while one of them casually eats a banana.
The city was deeply disturbed by the allegations, Bosman said in a statement.
“Video footage of the incident was brought to our attention late yesterday, 18 November 2014, showing the three officers on scene. There have been allegations that they did nothing to assist the victim,” he said.
“We have viewed the footage in question and, while the officers do feature, it is not possible to determine from the available footage whether they were present at the time of the assault on the victim.”
Bosman said the matter was receiving urgent attention and an investigation had been launched.
The investigation would determine exactly when and where the incident occurred, the circumstances surrounding it, and whether the officers sought medical assistance for the victim.
Western Cape police spokesman Lt-Col Andre Traut said on Wednesday that the SA Police Service was not involved.
"Our investigation into the matter has revealed that none of the uniformed officers are SAPS members and that our members were not at all present during the incident."
Traut said the SAPS condemned vigilantism and had launched an investigation.
According to the newspaper, the victim was stoned, beaten, and hit on head. The woman allegedly used pliers to rip off two of his fingernails before he died.
A community leader told The New Age the man was holding on to a police van begging the officers for help but they ignored him.
Sapa
WARNING - VIDEO CONTAINS GRAPHIC CONTENT