Johannesburg - Acting national police commissioner Lieutenant-General Khomotso Phahlane temporarily relinquished his high rank on Sunday and foiled a robbery in progress.
While accompanying his wife to a spa in Rosebank, Joburg, around 4pm, Phahlane spotted two armed men wearing balaclavas who were attempting to rob the store.
He immediately leapt to action, grabbing one of the robbers as the man tried to flee.
He wrestled with the robber while attempting to disarm him, said police spokesman Brigadier Hangwani Mulaudzi.
“The national commissioner had to jump and grab one of the robbers and then they entered into a scuffle,” Mulaudzi said.
The other robber, in an attempt to scare off the people and rescue his colleagues from the scuffle with Phahlane, fired a shot in the air.
Both men managed to get away in a Silver VW Golf.
During the confrontation, Phahlane sustained minor injuries, said Mulaudzi.
He said the police were investigating.
The Star