Durban - Once a cop, always a cop - or so Aniel Poolaraj thought.
But after the Joburg man was charged for murder and robbery, he lost not only his job as a constable, but also his dignity and standing in his community.
Despite being acquitted four years ago, he is still fighting an uphill battle to get his life back on track.
Poolaraj, 33, a former Nigel SAPS policeman, was accused, along with two others, of murdering and robbing Egyptian trader Nabil Hasaballa in February 2010.
However, the South Gauteng High Court found the trio not guilty.
“I want my life back. It’s been four years since I’ve been acquitted of these charges but the (police) department still won’t have me.
"I know cops who are currently working at SAPS that had worse charges against them but they get to keep their jobs. How am I any different?”
The father of two said he had re-applied for a position at SAPS both at provincial and national level. He claimed to have passed his psychometric tests and even received recommendations from seniors in the department.
"But when it came to the interview process, he was never called back.
“I was interviewed by three brigadiers and my application eventually came back as unsuccessful. They say that as a cop I cannot have previous charges against me. But the case was dismissed, and I’m being judged. It’s not right.”
He said he cannot understand why they won’t take him back especially at a time when there is a shortage of policemen. He said he was willing to take on any position, even if it meant working in the charge office.
Explaining his version of events from the incident that changed his life forever, Poolaraj said he was off duty and decided to go to the Bruma flea market and that’s when he noticed “something suspicious” taking place.
Living by the philosophy that policemen are never off duty, Poolaraj identified himself as a police officer to two men who were apparently engaged in “some sort of deal”.
“Both men were foreigners. They had what looked like a shoe box with them. I asked to see what was inside. He then told me to come in his office and he tried to bribe me. The man I questioned walked away from me so I chased after him. I went for my handcuffs.”
He said the man (Hasaballa) began calling for his group of friends who began shouting at him in a foreign language.
Poolaraj said sometime during the altercation the shoe box, which he thought had drugs in it, fell to the floor and about R300000 in cash spilled out.
He said people tried to make a grab for the money.
“I pulled out my gun, just to scare them off, but the man tried to disarm me. We got into a scuffle for the firearm and the gun went off.”
Hasaballa was shot in the chest and died at the scene.
Poolaraj said the next thing he knew, he was being arrested and taken into custody, spending 19 months at Johannesburg Prison as a prisoner awaiting trial.
He described his experience in jail as “horrifying” and said he was slowly slipping into depression. He was eventually granted bail in June 2011 after two failed attempts.
When the case went to trial, witness statements contradicted each other, leading to the dismissal of the case, he said.
Poolaraj said he had to resign as an officer during the departmental trial because he was given no other option.
Now Poolaraj does a few “odd” jobs to make ends meet. He lives with his father, who is also a policeman.
Poolaraj said his father also had his fair share of “agony” in the police department after raising issues of racism and favouritism in the department.
“He was eventually transferred to Springs, a good distance away from home. This made travelling a nightmare and he eventually had to quit his job because of the distance.”
Said Poolaraj: “We’ve given our heart and soul to the police service and we are persecuted in return.”
All he wants, he said, is a second chance to prove that he is indeed an asset to the force.
He said during his six years as an officer he was honoured with multiple awards and certificates for his excellent service, crime scene management and policing.
National SAPS spokesperson Brigadier Vish Naidoo said every case was different and while he conceded that there were people working in the force who had previous convictions, it depended on the circumstances around that case.
Naidoo also added that one of the pre-requisites of getting back on the force was not to resign.
“If you resign from the force, you cannot get back in unfortunately.
“Even if he was found not guilty in court, there are departmental investigations that could have been undertaken to prove that he is unsuitable for the force,” said Naidoo.
“Every case is treated on its own merit. The member knows the platforms he can resort to. He can write to the commissioner and air his grievances.”