Cape Town - A cop at Woodstock Police Station will be facing an internal inquiry after he allegedly told a man to “go ask Zuma” when asked for his name.
Philip van Niekerk, 45, says he was involved in a minor accident on Tuesday in the area and wanted to report the incident.
According to Van Niekerk, his VW Polo was “scraped” by another vehicle.
“It was a minor accident where this other man’s car scraped against mine and there was not much damage to my vehicle,” says the Woodstock resident.
He says he was in a hurry to get home and decided to report the accident the next day at Woodstock SAPS, where he received “rude and unprofessional” service from a cop only identified as Constable Jacobs.
“I walked in and there was already a woman at the counter before me and as she took out her papers for certification, he asked me what I want,” says Philip.
“I greeted and said good afternoon. He said good morning and now can you tell me what do you want.
Available
“I told him to please not be rude and sarcastic as he was still busy with another person.
“He said if I do not want to speak then I must leave or wait for someone else who is available.
“When I asked for his surname, he replied that it is not important, and why don’t I leave and go ask Zuma.
The police officer Constable Jacobs
“He said if I have a complaint, to speak to his supervisor who was in the building. But this supervisor didn’t respond.”
Philip says he managed to take the cop’s photograph on his cellphone, and that the officer even smiled for it.
He managed to report his accident after being helped by another officer.
He then decided to air his grievance on Twitter, sharing the picture of the officer, and tagging Mayor Patricia de Lille and the Daily Voice.
“What if this was a more serious case? And if he was having a bad day, you do not bring your personal problems to work,” says Philip.
@GenBheki_Cele had incident with #ConstableJacobs@ #WoodstockSAPS he was rude passed comments unhelpful , when I asked his name he says I must go ask #Zuma and asked if he must smile for pic #DontDeserveBadge @PatriciaDeLille @DailyVoiceSA @MmusiMaimane @News24 @SAPoliceService pic.twitter.com/QQYh7dmeIb
— Philip (@i_am_phil73) October 24, 2018
De Lille’s office responded to Philip’s tweet, saying: “Hi Philip, kindly DM us with your cellphone number and when this incident occurred so we can escalate this.”
De Lille’s spokesperson, Zara Nicholson, confirms they responded to Phillip’s tweet, but said on Thursday it was “a matter for the police”.
Police spokesperson, Captain FC van Wyk, confirms an internal investigation has been launched.
“We become aware that one of our members was exposed on social media for alleged improper service delivery,” says Van Wyk.
“We also contacted the complainant and made an appointment to officially record the allegations for investigation purposes.
“We see this sort of incident in a very serious light and our members were once again sensitised to treat our clients with dignity and respect.”