‘This is deplorable’: Cape Tow

Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay

‘This is deplorable’: Cape Town cop accused of shooting homeless man

A scuffle had ensued after the Cape Town law enforcement officer instructed the homeless man to put out a small fire he had started

‘This is deplorable’: Cape Tow

Image by Myriam Zilles from Pixabay

The GOOD Party is fuming and demanding justice for a homeless man it alleges was shot dead by a law enforcement officer in Cape Town.

“A City of Cape Town law enforcement officer allegedly responding to a complaint that homeless people were cooking a meal outdoors shot a homeless man in the face in Rondebosch. The as-yet-unnamed man died at the scene in Chester Road,” said GOOD Party Secretary-General Brett Herron.

For the party, the fatal shooting of the man is reminiscent of another incident, which led to the conviction of Morne Horn in November 2021, a City of Cape Town law enforcement officer convicted for murdering an undercover police officer in Long Street.

It isn’t clear whether the perpetrator was in fact a learner officer, but the incident has prompted more concern over the city’s law enforcement efforts

“The Western Cape Safety Plan is underpinned by the City of Cape Town LEAP (Law Enforcement Advancement Plan) that aims to put 1000 Learner Law Enforcement Officers, armed with firearms, onto our streets – with the objective of halving the murder rate”

“These Learner Law Enforcement Officers are deployed after only six weeks training compared to a SAPS Learner Constable who is deployed after 12 months of academy training, before performing an additional 12 months as a Learner Constable. The City’s firearm training is apparently only three weeks long”

Brett Herron, GOOD Party Secretary-General

GOOD PARTY WANTS ANSWERS FROM CAPE TOWN MAYOR

While the law enforcement officer in question has been arrested, the GOOD Party is now demanding answers from Cape Town Mayor Geordin Hill-Lewis over the homeless man’s shooting. Further referring to the incident, the party says law enforcement officers had received a complaint from a resident about a small fire which homeless people in Rondebosch were using to cook a meal.

“The officers instructed the homeless people to extinguish it. There was a scuffle over the dousing of the fire, at which point a homeless person was shot in the face by a law enforcement officer,” Herron says.

For the GOOD Party, the incident raises more questions about the City’s Municipal Police Service and its conduct. Added to that is the fact that some of the officers are undertrained.

“Shooting someone dead over a pot of food also, once again, underscores the DA-led City’s deplorable victimisation of homeless people. The Mayor must please explain the actions of his law enforcement officers. Real crime-prevention and crime-fighting are not achieved by under-trained, unaccountable enforcement – which bears the hallmarks of vigilantism. Crime fighting requires lawfulness, discipline, training and accountability”

Brett Heron, GOOD Party Secretary-General