Death toll reaches 60 as Police killings escalate in South Africa

Saturday September 12, 2015

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Two more police officers were killed on Wednesday, bringing to 60 the death toll of police officers killed since the begining of this year.

The latest killing took place in Soweto, southwest of Johannesburg, Police Lieutenant Colonel Lungelo Dlamini said.

The two police officers—a 50-year-old warrant officer and a 40-year-old constable—were chased by gang members, Dlamini said.

During the chase, the cops crashed their car into a civilian vehicle and the gang jumped out of their vehicles, opening fire on them.

One officer died on the scene and the other died in hospital.

The killing occurred as National Police Commissioner Riah Phiyega was briefing the Parliamentary Police Portfolio Committee on recent police killings.

Upon hearing the news, the committee said police killings have reached a crisis point.

Committee Chairperson Francois Beukman called it a priority to clamp down on police killings.

"We must look at other jurisdictions, what are others doing in terms of dealing with police killings," he said.

Beukman said South Africa should learn from South America and USA, Russia which are making progress in contain police killings.

Earlier this week, President Jacob Zuma said the safety of police officers remains the primary concern of the government as well as the police themselves.

Of the 60 police officers killed since January this year, 29 were killed on duty and 31 off duty, official figures show.

A total of 63 officers were killed on duty between April 2014 and March 2015.

Zuma said the callous murder of police officers was an attack not only on them, but on the state itself.

Zuma said the country’s laws allow the police to fight back decisively when their lives or those of the public are threatened.

But this should be done "within the confines of the law, Zuma said.

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