"The incident where police members in Mabopane, North of Pretoria, shot and killed an innocent woman, after they had wrongfully identified her vehicle as a high-jacked car, testifies to trigger-happiness and poor training. The police member's lives were not threatened at all and it was only necessary to shoot at the wheels of the vehicle. This incident gives rise to serious questions about the expediency of the amendment of section 49 of the Criminal Procedure Act," Mr. Pieter Groenewald (MP), the chief spokesperson on Police for the Freedom Front Plus says.

"Although the Freedom Front Plus supports the Minister of Police, Mr. Nathi Mthethwa's, remarks that police officers should be equipped to "fight fire with fire", it requires that police members receive strict training in this regard. Police members however have to adhere to the rules and regulations of the use of firearms at all times. The Minster will have to act decisively against these members, otherwise it will send a message that an innocent life is not worth anything. With the high crime levels in South Africa , motorists think twice before they merely stop for the Police, as one never knows whether it is a criminal such as the Blue Light Gang," Groenewald said.

Statement issued by Pieter Groenewald, Freedom Front Plus spokesperson on police, October 12 2009

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