DURBAN - Police have launched an internal investigation into the conduct of two Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department(JMPD) officers after they were accused of allegedly harassing and attempting to solicit a bribe from a woman selling dog beds.
Members of the community, who saw the commotion, stopped and recorded the incident. The video has since gone viral on social media.
In one of the videos, the woman is seen crying and pleading with two officers while attempting to remove the dog beds from the back seat of a JMPD vehicle.
One member of the community said the woman had been selling her dog beds in the same spot for over a year.
The person recording the video asks the police what was happening.
“You are abusing a woman what is going on here? Listen guys come on the lady is trying to make a living you don't have a heart. Come on, I’m recording you guys.
“Is this what South African police do to somebody who is trying to make a living. Sorry, can I please have your badge numbers, are you stealing this woman’s things,” he said.
In a longer version of the video, the woman said that she was not even issued with a warning and continues to plead with the two officers to let her go with her dog beds.
In a statement on Monday, JMPD spokesperson Xolani Fihla said a video clip and a statement posted on Facebook on Sunday alleging that JMPD officers abused and harassed a member of the public who was selling her goods on the side of the road has been brought to the attention of the department’s management.
“It is further alleged by the complainant that the officers tried to solicit a bribe from the vendor for selling goods on the side of the road without permission to do so.
“The matter has been brought forward to the JMPD Internal Affairs Unit and a preliminary investigation has been initiated,” he said.
With the high levels of unemployment that we are facing, we should not be penalizing entrepreneurs.
— Mmusi Maimane (@MmusiMaimane) June 22, 2021
We should be finding ways to support them and to grow their businesses. This is not the way, there is no empathy whatsoever pic.twitter.com/bF07pMvf1y
THE MERCURY