Cape Town – Police are investigating reckless and negligent driving by their own rank and file after a video surfaced showing alleged drunk police officers bumping into another vehicle in their official car in the Delft Mall parking lot.
Eerste River resident Lungile Mapoyi said he was sitting with his wife in their parked car last Thursday when a Samora Machel police vehicle bumped the side of his car and left a dent.
Mapoyi said as he was about to get out to assess the damage, the police vehicle reversed, bumping his car again, this time denting the door handle at the back.
“I was so shocked. I thought the police were running away when they reversed. I quickly got out and stopped them. To my surprise they were drunk and I was appalled to see them in that state.
“The driver came to assess my vehicle with me. We exchanged contacts and he asked for forgiveness,” he said.
Another shopper used his phone to record the incident.
In the video, one person in the police van is seen sitting at the back only wearing shorts.
Next to him on the floor is a vodka bottle and a bullet-proof vest.
Another person is seen in casual clothes sitting in the front passenger seat and seems furious that they are being recorded.
The man then points at the shopper recording the video in a threatening way and steps out of the car slowly.
Mapoyi said he decided to report the matter because his vehicle was not insured.
“When we got there the Delft police advised me not to open a case against their colleagues, saying the damage was not that massive.
“Instead I must sort it out in private with the officers who bumped my car. This was them trying to protect their own because they wouldn’t open a case and my only worry was that I would end up fixing something that was caused by reckless people.”
Mapoyi said when he tried to call the people who bumped him he couldn’t reach them and realised they gave him invalid numbers and wrong names.
His daughter and other people then circulated the video on social media asking for advice.
On December 27, Mapoyi and his wife managed to lodge a complaint with the assistance of another person and a police officer.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said: “This office can confirm that an accident occurred between a police vehicle and a private vehicle at a shopping mall parking area in Delft on December 26 at approximately 1pm.
“The complainant reported the accident on December 27 at 11.30am and a case docket of reckless and negligent driving was registered. The investigation continues.”