Four traffic officers were transported to N1 City Hospital in Cape Town for medical treatment following a confrontation in Milnerton on Wednesday, which resulted in the arrest of two people.
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JP Smith, the City of Cape Town’s safety and security MMC, stated that two officers were conducting enforcement operations in the area when they spotted an overloaded Toyota Quantum shortly after 5pm.
He stated that the driver refused to stop and, after a brief chase, was brought to a halt, but the driver immediately began assaulting the officers and resisting arrest.
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‘A second taxi then stopped, and that driver, too, joined the assault,’ he said.
Smith said the officers were able to call for backup after a crowd gathered and began threatening them.
Two more colleagues arrived, and despite the fracas, they were able to arrest both suspects.
Smith added that the suspects were detained at Milnerton SAPS on a number of charges, including reckless and negligent driving, assaulting a peace officer, resisting arrest, causing damage to council property, and failing to obey a lawful order.
‘We condemn these brazen attacks on our staff, and I call on the justice system to deal swiftly with these suspects,’ he said.
A video of the incident was widely shared on social media, depicting traffic officials trying to apprehend the suspect.
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In the footage, a person can be heard asking: ‘What are they spraying on him?’ after one traffic officer allegedly used pepper spray to subdue one of the suspects.
Smith stressed that in recent days, a total of six law enforcement officers have been attacked while executing their duties.
‘It can’t be that the same communities who cry out for enforcement are the ones who obstruct those very efforts. These incidents are among the reasons why we are working to amend the traffic by-law, to empower our staff to push back against the total disregard for the rule of law,’ he added.
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Picture: Screenshot