Cape Town - A City of Cape Town traffic officer and firefighter were arrested this week for illegal street racing, the city said on Friday.
The pair have been charged with reckless and negligent driving as well as participating in an illegal street race.
The City has also instituted disciplinary steps, with pre-suspension letters set to be issued on Friday, Safety and security Mayco member JP Smith said.
According to Smith, the City’s Ghost Squad was conducting operations in the Milnerton/Plattekloof area, one of several hotspots in Cape Town, when at about 11pm one of the officers spotted a Subaru and Ford ST racing along the N7 in the direction of Bosmansdam Road.
He called for back-up and pursued the vehicles, eventually forcing them to a stop. Upon interrogating the drivers, officers found that one of them was a female traffic officer and the other a City firefighter, who had another female traffic officer in the passenger seat.
Smith said he noted the arrests with "utter disappointment"
"While I do not want to pre-judge the situation, there is no doubt that an incident like this has the potential to cause serious reputational harm to the City, but also to jeopardise our enforcement efforts. Illegal street racing is extremely dangerous and one of our many enforcement challenges," Smith said.
"It is therefore disappointing that the very people who are supposed to protect the public make themselves guilty of this type of behaviour.
"I also want to reassure the public that the actions of a few do not represent the thousands of dedicated employees within our safety and security services who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to keep Cape Town safe," he said.