Johannesburg - Ekurhuleni’s acting mayor Lesiba Mpya said both officers filmed in the drunk video furore have been suspended, as well as their supervisor.
Earlier on Wednesday, Ekurhuleni’s executive mayor Mzwandile Masina, said the allegedly drunk cop had been suspended in a tweet.
A video of the purportedly drunk EMPD police officer went viral on Tuesday night, much to the bemusement of many South Africans.
In one of the videos, the officer is filmed sitting behind the wheel in a stationary police vehicle with a number of alcohol bottles seen in the vehicle.
In another video, a member of the public calls on another police officer to undertake a breathlyser test on his colleague, a request which appears to be declined.
Another video has emerged of the @City_Ekurhuleni metro cop. @mzwandileMasina pic.twitter.com/Vl7gCCe42n
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) September 24, 2019
In another video, members of the public call on a fellow officer to remove a police issue firearm from the purportedly drunk police officer, a request he adhered to.
The city said it would investigate if the alleged drunk metro officer had been drinking and driving.
Numerous calls fielded to Mpya on Wednesday were unsuccessful.
But speaking to Power FM’s Thabiso Tema on Wednesday afternoon, Mpya said the three police officers, including the two in filmed in the video and a supervisor, had been placed on suspension.
Dear @City_Ekurhuleni & @mzwandileMasina - WATCH this video of a metro cop allegedly under the influence of alcohol. He nearly crashed into a biker in Benoni and threatened to shoot the man while he was recording him. @GP_CommSafety @MbalulaFikile @David_Makhura Video as red pic.twitter.com/GTsZd85WK6
— Yusuf Abramjee (@Abramjee) September 24, 2019
Mpya said the supervisor had been suspended for failing to take appropriate action against the purportedly drunk police officer, when members of the public escorted him to the police station.
“The (other) police officer tried to whisk him away but the members of the public insisted to escort him and they made their way to the office to hand over this police officer to the supervisor.
“This supervisor who could not be decisive in taking action against this police officer who at the time appeared to be under the influence of alcohol,” explained Mpya..
Mpya said the city was still awaiting for a ‘consolidated report’ to determine if the alleged drunk police officer had been drinking and driving, but he assured the public the matter was been taken seriously.
“We want to assure the public that this is one case that we are going to assure society that we are not going to leave lying down,” he said.
“We pride ourselves as the City of Ekurhuleni and as the EMPD to zero tolerance in transgressions with relation to the traffic, because while you are under the influence of alcohol, you are a danger to people’s lives and in as much as this is alleged, we need to afford it to go through disciplinary processes and we condemn it with the contempt it deserves.
“This is unacceptable behaviour, particularly coming from an officer of the law, there is nothing that justifies this kind of behaviour,” he said.
When asked if blood samples had been taken from the alleged drunk police officer, Mpya did not answer directly, but he said if they had not been extracted, it would be tantamount to dereliction of duty and defeating the ends of justice for the police officers involved.
“We are not going to play around with this particular case, we have prioritised this and we are happy the chief of police has taken the action that he has taken in suspending immediately the three police officers, which indicates we have zero tolerance to nonsense,” he said.
Saturday Star
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