Community in shock after officer ‘pistol-whips’ man during argument over fish
|||A cop landed on the wrong side of the law when he allegedly pistol-whipped a man during an argument about fish.
The police officer was off duty when he allegedly confronted Rodney “Tiekkie” January about trying to exchange a fish he had bought.
According to Tiekkie’s friend Isaac “Rommel” Claassen, the fight broke out after Tiekkie told the fish seller at the Hawston stalletjie to put a cloth over the fish to prevent flies from sitting on it – and this is when the cop intervened.
“The policeman said Tiekkie was being ‘sterkgevriet’ so he pulled out his gun and hit Tiekkie over the head,” explains Claassen.
The shocked man then fled the stalletjie.
Shoot
“He hit me over the head with his gun and then I ran to the bakkie because I was sure that he was going to shoot me,” says a terrified Tiekkie.
While Tiekkie was sitting in Claassen’s bakkie, drinking a beer for the shock, the cop returned with a vengeance.
Tiekkie explains the cop threw the beer that he’d been drinking all over him and once again threatened the already-scared man with his gun.
“That vark sommer held the gun to my head,” he explains.
Tiekkie then fled again and waited until the police arrived before returning.
A bare-chested Tiekkie and other shocked people at the scene were baying for the policeman’s blood but the cop was quickly taken away by other police officers.
“Why are they putting him in the back of the car, why don’t they put him in the van?” an angry Tiekkie demanded at the scene.
He was later taken to hospital where he received six stitches.
Police spokesperson Captain FC van Wyk confirms that the suspect is a police officer.
Suspect
“The suspect is stationed in Mfuleni and was off duty at the time of the incident,” says Van Wyk.
The 29-year-old cop was taken from the scene but he was not arrested.
Van Wyk says that the suspect used his firearm during the incident and it has since been confiscated.
Cops are now investigating a case of assault with intent to cause grievous bodily harm and pointing a firearm.
“The case was referred to the Directorate of Public Prosecutions and an internal investigation will also be done,” adds Van Wyk. - Daily Voice
