COP KILLINGS, A NATIONAL CRISIS
The National Commissioner of the South African Police Service, General Bheki Cele, has strongly condemned the killing of another two police officers, Warrant Officer Gurswin Matthee (39) and Student Constable Cannon Cloete (23).
This morning (2011-05-22) at approximately 01:10 two Kraaifontein SAPS members were gunned down in cold blood while rendering routine police assistance in an informal settlement in Wallacedene area of Kraaifontein. The members were at the corner of Pedro and Boesak Streets when they were confronted by armed suspects and shot dead before their service pistols were taken.
In just a matter of three days, four members of the South African Police Service have been killed and a sergeant remains in hospital after being seriously wounded in Creighton, KwaZulu-Natal on Friday.
National Police Commissioner, General Bheki Cele has strongly condemned these killings. "This is indeed a crisis, the rate at which our officers are being callously gunned down is extremely alarming", said General Bheki Cele.
The National Commissioner has called on police officers, particularly in the Western Cape, to not rest and to pull out all stops until these men are caught and put behind bars. "I have called on all police officers throughout the country to continue with their work undeterred and vigilantly, said Cele. "This attack is a clear indication that there are cold-blooded criminals out there that have no value or thought for human life and we must deal with them doggedly", added Cele.
"I have attended funerals of my police officers every weekend in this past four weeks and I cannot help but state that community outcry on the killing of our officers is seriously lacking", said General Cele. The General has appealed to all communities to rally in support to prevent these attacks from progressing as well as to help track down the killers of Matthee and Cloete.
Statement issued by Colonel Vishnu Naidoo, National Media Centre, SAPS, May 22 2011
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