A man was arrested and a police officer was injured when community members turned on police during a joint police operation in Kensington in Cape Town on Friday night, Western Cape police said.
During a multi-disciplinary operation targeting the generators of crime in Kensington, police officials came under fire from community members who threw stones and petrol bombs at police and fired shots, Lt-Col Andrè Traut said on Sunday.
“It was during this scuffle that a police constable suffered injuries and was treated. Police were left with no choice but to act against the riotous crowd using stun grenades and rubber bullets in an effort to [defuse] the situation,” he said.
One suspect, a 35-year-old man, was arrested on charges of dealing in liquor, public violence, and resisting arrest. He was found in possession of R18,000 in cash, believed to be the proceeds of illegal liquor trading. Three cases of beer were also confiscated. He was due to appear in court in Cape Town on Tuesday. The circumstances surrounding the entire incident were under investigation, Traut said.
Western Cape police commissioner Lt-Gen Khombinkosi Jula condemned the violence displayed by the community in Kensington against police executing operations aimed at making the area safer.
Jula vowed that police would not be intimidated by criminals who attempted to derail policing efforts in the Western Cape. “Communities need to support police efforts to make the areas they live in safer,” he said.
Source: eNCA
