Cape Town - The Grassy Park Empowerment Forum has called on residents to band together with donations for a memorial service and funding towards slain cop Ashwin Pedro’s funeral, set to take place at the weekend.
The community is expected to gather for a wreath-laying ceremony at the Grassy Park SAPS on Wednesday, followed by a memorial service at the Grassy Park Civic Centre.
Spokesperson for the Grassy Park Empowerment Forum, Bradley Ruiters, called on the public for support.
“The shooting of our young constable has hit our Grassy Park community like a ton of bricks. Firstly, the killing of one of our protectors signals the crossing of a red line.
Although the death of every GBV victim and child caught in gangster crossfire is as tragic as the killing of Constable Ashwin Pedro, the shooting of a police officer simply doing his job to serve our community is just too much.
“Pedro was our little sign that our kids will be okay. That our children can escape the clutches of gangsterism and drugs. The Community Policing Forum in Grassy Park and associated neighbourhood watch organisations, along with other community-based structures, work closely with station commander Dawood Laing and his police members, so many of us get to know the officers behind the bullet-proof vests and blue tactical wear,” said Ruiters.
Pedro was shot and killed on Friday afternoon while his partner reacted to information about an armed suspect in Blackbird Avenue, Grassy Park.
His accused murderer, Denzil October, 42, made his first court appearance in the Wynberg Magistrate’s Court on Monday after he was traced and arrested in Ravensmead hours after the shooting.
At a recent community meeting of neighbourhood watches and other CPF-affiliated structures, CPF spokesperson Philip Bam said: “We realise that you, the SAPS, are cleaning up our failures – our failure to instil the correct values in our children. So we truly appreciate what you do.”
SAPS spokesperson, Wynita Kleinsmith, said Pedro, from Lavender Hill, joined their police station shortly after his SAPS training concluded about six years ago.
If you would like to donate towards costs use the following details: Bank: Nedbank; Account Holder: Grassy Park Empowerment Forum; Account number: 1188646559; Type: Savings account.
Cape Times