Cape Town – A drunk-driving suspect’s attempt to flee by jumping over a wall turned into a nightmare, sustaining cuts to his ribcage on a spiked wall and being sjambokked by an angry home owner.
Fortunately, the arresting officer intervened and the 27-year-old suspect from Bellville was taken to the local day hospital, where he received seven stitches to the wound caused by the wall spikes, the City of Cape Town said on Monday.
"The suspect was stopped during a Ghost Squad operation in Eerste River but tried to make a run for it. He jumped over a wall, but in doing so, sustained cuts to his ribcage on the spiked wall.
"After landing in the backyard, the property owner thought he was trying to break into his house and proceeded to sjambok him.
"This is not the first suspect who attempted to make a run for it, but it is certainly one of the first who came off so badly as a result.
"What would have been a straightforward drunk-driving case has now turned into resisting arrest, but also a possible trespassing charge, if the property owner decides to pursue the matter.
"This is not to mention the physical impact of the attempted getaway. I commend the officer who didn’t give up and saved the suspect from the potential consequences of being mistaken for an intruder," said the City’s Mayoral Committee Member for Safety and Security, JP Smith.
The 27-year-old suspect was one of 11 arrests for driving under the influence during the operation. The highest breathalyser reading was 2.0 mg/L, which is more than eight times over the legal limit.
Another motorist was arrested during the same operation for being under the influence of narcotics and dealing in dagga.
Elsewhere, Cape Town Traffic Officers arrested 53 motorists for drunk driving – 35 of them during an operation in the Claremont/Wynberg area on Saturday.
Officers also impounded 60 minibus taxis and 43 sedan taxis during operations in the last week and issued 3 259 fines for various transgressions.
In the early hours this morning, the Metro Police Gang and Drug Task Team arrested a 40-year-old suspect for the possession of a prohibited firearm.
While on patrol in Manenberg, officers spotted a suspect walking down the road with a firearm in hand. He ran away and threw the firearm over a fence when he spotted the officers.
The officers arrested the suspect and found 36 rounds of ammunition and two magazines in his possession. They also recovered a Z88 pistol that he had thrown away during the pursuit.
In other Metro Police successes, officers arrested 32 motorists for drunk driving, two for possession of drugs, one for assault on a police officer and one suspect for driving a vehicle with fraudulent licence plates.
Last Wednesday, a Metro Police CCTV operator spotted a Ford Focus in the CBD that raised their suspicion. The operator alerted officers on patrol in the area.
When they pulled over the vehicle in Castle Street, officers noticed a number plate pasted over the original plate. The number plate did not correspond with the vehicle’s licence dis, and the 34-year-old driver was arrested for fraud and detained at Cape Town Central police station.
"Our Metro Police officers were also kept busy along the N2, where they assisted 28 motorists who had gotten stuck. Officers also attended to numerous complaints of cattle wandering near the roadway.
"We have seen numerous accidents involving animals and it is something that we will have to address with Sanral and the Western Cape government.
"The City is patrolling the N2 as best as we can, but ultimately, proper fencing is the only real solution to this problem, but also the incidents of attacks by criminals who are able to get onto the highway and either force motorists to a stop by obstructing the roadway, or targeting vehicles that have stopped for whatever reason," said Smith.