DURBAN - Hawaii police have been urged to release body cam footage following the fatal shooting of KwaZulu-Natal rugby star, Lindani Myeni.
Myeni lived in Hawaii with his wife and their two children.
He was reportedly shot dead by police following an apparent scuffle following a report of a robbery at a home in the area.
Hawaii News Now reported that Myeni was shot multiple times after he punched officers.
According to the report, on Wednesday, officers responded to a report of a burglary in progress at a home in Nuuanu. The person who made the 911 call, said a man was sitting in a vehicle parked nearby and identified him as the suspect. The caller said the man had been exhibiting strange behaviour.
HPD Police Chief Susan Ballard said the man walked into the house and was erratic.
She said he sat down and took off his shoes and he was trying to talk to the homeowners but they were very upset. He eventually walked out.
Ballard said the first officer who arrived ordered Myeni to lie down on the floor but she claimed Myeni punched the officer.
"The second officer tried to intervene and a third used a Taser. The first officer then fired a single round and the suspect 'continued and straddled', another officer and that was when the second officer fired three more rounds. The suspect was taken to hospital where he later died," she said.
She added that the other officers were wounded in the incident.
Myeni, his wife and their two children moved to the islands in January from the mainland.
The Economic Freedom Fighters in KZN has called for justice.
Provincial Chairperson, Vusi Khoza said while there are many versions of the story, Myeni did not have a criminal record.
"We therefore call upon the Department of International Relations to intervene by making sure that justice prevails. We further call upon international communities and movements to join us as we call for #JusticeForLindaniMyeni," he said.
ECONOMIC FREEDOM FIGHTERS KWAZULU-NATAL STATEMENT ON THE MURDER OF A SOUTH AFRICAN CITIZEN IN HAWAII@EFFSouthAfrica pic.twitter.com/6WFAdOxFSp
— EFF KZN (@EFFKZN) April 16, 2021
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