Johannesburg - A message has been circulating among police officers advising them to stop committing themselves to their work because no one cares when they are killed by criminals.
The message was allegedly sent by a former police officer to police WhatsApp groups after three Krugersdorp police officers accused of killing a fleeing suspect were denied bail last week.
It surfaced after more officers were reported to have either been shot and wounded or killed over the weekend.
The message resulted in heated discussions among officers, with some saying they would return fire with fire when confronted by armed and dangerous criminals. Others said they would make sure they arrived at a crime scene after armed criminals had left.
In the message, the ex-officer doesn’t mince his words, telling the officers it was no longer worth their while to go the extra mile trying to protect citizens because the law favoured criminals.
“Our government doesn’t care about you. The community doesn’t like you. You wear a uniform every day to protect everyone including the criminals who in return kill you,” the message read.
“If you stop the criminals and they refuse, don’t chase them because they can rob your loved ones by killing you while you are trying to protect those who don’t care for you.
“If one of the criminals resists arrest you’d better leave them because if you use minimum force, they are going to attack you until you apply more force, and that can lead you to jail.”
The officer went on to advise his colleagues to rather accept a cold-drink bribe from criminals if they offered it because if they did their jobs and arrested them, they were the ones who ended up being grilled in court as if they were the suspects.
“At the end they are given bail to go out and hunt you even at your homes. How many officers have been killed by criminals who are on bail or parole?
“Don’t approach a business or armed robbery in progress, let the investigation take place. Don’t try to be a hero because it won’t help your family at all,” the message further stated.
The Police and Prisons Civil Rights Union’s Richard Mamabolo wasn’t aware of the message until The Star showed it to him. He said while he disagreed with some aspects of the message, there were others that couldn’t be ignored.
Mamabolo said conditions in the police were such that officers were constantly at risk of being killed and that the union wasn’t encouraging young people to join the SAPS.
“We are discouraging them because they will not be defended or protected.
“Since the beginning of the year, 62 police officers have been killed. Besides offering their sympathies and prayers, the management and the Ministry of Police have not put a programme of action in place to assure police that their lives matter more than the criminals.”
Mamabolo said they would be marching to the office of the acting national police commissioner, Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane, on Friday.
SAPS spokesman General Solomon Makgale said the police continued to work hard despite the message because they had taken an oath.
“Management of the police is very concerned about police killings and everything possible is being done to ensure the criminal elements involved face the full might of the law,” Makgale said.
The Star
* Use IOL’s Facebook and Twitter pages to comment on our stories. See links below.