Durban - A Limpopo municipal traffic officer is facing suspension after a video of him assaulting a member of the public went viral at the weekend.
In the short clip, the officer is seen hitting a man, in full view of the public.
The officer is dressed in full uniform and proceeds to assault the man before tripping him. The man falls to the ground and the officer then subdues him.
The Makhuduthamaga Municipality has since condemned the incident adding that they have asked the officer to provide a full represention on why he should not be suspended.
Makhuduthamaga mayor, Minah Bahula urged the municipal manager to act expediently and decisively on the matter.
"We wish to apologise to the public. The incident portrays a bad image and brings out municipality into disrepute. It is not like our municipality to behave like that. In our more than 20 years of existence as a local government, this is the first incident of this nature which not only belittles us but also destroys our culture as the municipality," she said.
Bahula said she hoped that the public understood that measures have been taken against the officer.
The Democratic Alliance's provincial Transport and Community Safety, Katlego Suzan Phala, called for full investigation into the incident.
"The conduct displayed by the traffic officer in the video is simply unacceptable and not befitting of someone expected to uphold the rule of law. There is no justification for the traffic officer’s conduct whether the man assaulted in the video had transgressed or not," she said.
IOL