Johannesburg - It’s almost 10am and Joburg’s Bree Street taxi rank precinct is chaotic as usual.
Three female Joburg metro police (JMPD) officers approach a minibus taxi parked at the intersection of Sauer and Gwigwi Mrwebi streets.
The taxi driver reverses his vehicle just as the cops arrive. They try to stop him, using their bare hands.
The man drives his taxi forward, and again the cops stop him.
One of the cops tries to remove the keys from the taxi’s ignition. The driver rolls up the window, which catches the officer’s hand.
Meanwhile, another cop climbs into the taxi’s passenger side. The driver jumps out.
Quickly, he removes the licence disc from the taxi. Three more metro cops arrive. The altercation gets worse.
Sirens wail as more cops pull up. Punches fly. A few land on the cops as the taxi driver fights back.
This was the scene on Tuesday when Joburg metro police officers fought a defiant taxi driver.
The man is alleged to have been washing his vehicle in the street.
The incident was captured on CCTV footage The Star has seen.
It took more than 10 cops to apprehend the man.
The police took several blows before they overpowered the burly man. He had also tried to hurl bricks at the police.
One of the female cops, who had initially tried to arrest the man, said the incident had left her shaken.
“I was surprised at the way he fought us and resisted arrest. We were scared… We had to duck fists,” said the officer, who asked not to be named.
“I think he undermined us and took advantage because we are women. But we won’t be intimidated because we are just doing our job.”
JMPD spokesman Wayne Minnaar said the man faced charges of assault and resisting arrest. His taxi was impounded.
The incident happened a day after another metro police officer was punched, allegedly by a Soweto taxi driver.
The metro cop had stopped the driver, who was driving through orange beacons placed to control peak-hour traffic and to assist pupils crossing the road.
During Tuesday’s incident, throngs of taxi drivers taunted the police, protesting against their colleague’s arrest. Many accused the cops of brutality.
“Let them go to Noord (taxi rank). There is lots of crime there. People’s phones are being snatched,” said one woman.
“Go back! S***! We will pull another Marikana in Joburg!” a police officer was heard saying.
The Star