KwaZulu-Natal - A Durban resident, who says he was sworn at and threatened by metro police officers after he took them to task for parking in a bay reserved for the disabled, has lodged a complaint with the force.
And in an unrelated incident, a woman says she was manhandled by a senior metro police officer after she asked him to move his vehicle, which was blocking the entrance to her workplace. She, too, has written a letter of complaint.
Both have accused the officers involved of being a menace to society and having a disregard for the law.
The city has launched preliminary investigations into both matters. The outcome of the investigations, said eThekwini Municipality spokesman, Thabo Mofokeng, would guide the city on what action should be taken against the officers.
Recalling the most recent incident, which happened on Tuesday, James Naysmith said he was parking outside the Camperdown Spar when he noticed a metro police vehicle parked in a bay for disabled drivers.
He said this was despite there being plenty of other parking available.
“On entering the store I saw the three officers at the take-away counter and I asked one gentleman why they had parked in the disabled parking,” said Naysmith, who took pictures of the vehicle and the officers.
One of the officers, said Naysmith, had told him there was no available parking while the other told him to mind his own business.
“I continued with my shopping and on arriving at the till the officer was complaining to the manager about me taking her picture and she swore at me.
“The other officer followed me outside, took down my (vehicle) registration and told me they would get me,” he said.
Naysmith questioned the police’s conduct, saying they should be an example to the public. “Their conduct indicates that they have complete disregard for the law,” he said.
In the second incident, a Dalbridge woman has also complained about the conduct of metro officers, including one who allegedly manhandled her, but has withdrawn a criminal case against him after she discovered that he was a high-ranking official.
The woman, who requested anonymity as she feared victimisation, said two aggressive officers shouted at her and her colleague outside their place of employment.
She said the officer fined her colleague, who could not make her way into the premises’ parking because of a truck blocking the entrance.
When she confronted the plainclothes officer the woman said she was met with an arrogant attitude.
“When I asked them to please stop fighting with me and that I just wanted to have a discussion, they both started screaming at me in full view of my staff and neighbours.”
One of the officers allegedly threatened to arrest her, grabbed her by the arm and manhandled her.
Mofokeng said the city had launched an investigation. - Daily News