A KHAYELITSHA police officer was killed after being involved in a shootout with his colleagues who caught him and another suspect allegedly stealing bricks from a construction in the area.
Officers on patrol in the area came across a light delivery vehicle loading bricks at the construction site and as they approached, four suspects fled.
Two of them were arrested with the assistance of security guards who were on site.
But as they were busy loading the arrested suspects into the police van, they came under fire.
“They returned fire. The gunman was hit. He was taken to hospital where he died. It later transpired he was an off-duty police official attached to the Khayelitsha Tactical Response Team.
“Further investigations led the police to the home of the deceased where a generator stolen in a business robbery in the area was found. It was also discovered that the firearm used by the deceased to fire shots at the police was a service pistol registered in his name. The vehicle that was loading bricks at the construction site belonged to the deceased, said police spokesperson Novela Potelwa.
The officer’s name has not been released. The Independent Police Investigation Directorate was informed.
Acting provincial commissioner Thembisile Patekile has decried the involvement of police officials in crime, saying: “Not only do they tarnish the name of the SAPS but their actions strain relations between police and communities.”