Cops shoot, kill young man
2023-11-26 23:28

Johannesburg - A 22-year-old man has been shot and killed by police in Amalia, North West, after allegedly attacking officers repeatedly with a knife, police said on Wednesday.

"Police were called to attend to a domestic violence complaint where the suspect [deceased] allegedly fought with his sisters and stabbed one of them on her right hand with a knife," said Brigadier Thulani Ngubane.

"She sustained injuries and was transferred to the hospital for medical treatment.

When police arrived on the scene at Molatswaneng village, in Amalia around 13:00 on Monday, the man was very aggressive, and allegedly charged at the police in an attempt to chase them away.

"One police officer fell and sustained serious hand injuries and was transported to hospital," he said.

"It is alleged that the suspect continued to harass and charged at everyone he came across with a knife."

Police warned the man verbally and used pepper spray to calm him down, but neither intervention had any impact in convincing him to co-operate with police.

"He further went on to attack bystanders with a knife," Ngubane said.

"The suspect charged at a police member who fired two warning shots but the suspect did not stop."

The officer, in defending himself, allegedly fatally shot the man in his chest when he continued approaching the officer with the intention to attack him with a knife.

"The Independent Police Investigative Directorate has been informed of the case and they are investigating the matter," Ngubane said.

- SAPA

More to the point; how on earth can pepper spraying someone be thought of as "trying to calm him down"?

I mean, if I'm getting stressed about something I don't break open the pepper spray and douse my face in it.  That would be crazy.

Ok maybe not the best turn of phrase but I am pretty sure they mean subdue...

Grammar nazi's everywhere.

Knowing South African cops I wouldn't be surprised that during the onslaught one of them shouted sarcastically: "Here, this will calm you down!" **pepper spray in the face**

Ok maybe not the best turn of phrase but I am pretty sure they mean subdue...

Grammar nazi's everywhere.

*Grammar Nazis everywhere.

So a few cops can't detain 1 man with a knife? Killing him sounds extreme. Surely if they shot him in the foot he would have dropped the knife? Police brutality and incompetence in SA....

 

So a few cops can't detain 1 man with a knife? Killing him sounds extreme. Surely if they shot him in the foot he would have dropped the knife? Police brutality and incompetence in SA....

 

Officers are taught to shoot the center mass. The foot is a small target area and can easily missed. 

Be Quiet. Listen and learn.

If the report is accurate, then I think the cops were within their rights to do what they did. We are quick to condemn cops, but I wonder how many of us have ever been in the situations they find themselves in every day?

Humans have a natural instinct to survive and you can train someone as much as you like but when the chips are down, humans will do whatever it takes to defend their lives.

With regards to the pepper spray, perhaps this dude was on 'tik' and if he was then pepper spray ain't gonna stop him.

I had a friend back in SA who was an experienced cop and he told me if dudes are on tik, they get superhuman strength and can clear 8 foot walls with no issues at all.

So, while I am no fan of the SAPS in general, I don't think in this case that they have done wrong.

People high on PCP can seem to possess superhuman abilities. The police tasered Rodney King twice but that didn't stop him. In fact, he violently charged one of the officers after being tasered. However, unlike this case he wasn't armed. That probably saved him from being shot.

Quote from: Tamryn5 on November 27, 2014, 03:42:29 PM

So a few cops can't detain 1 man with a knife? Killing him sounds extreme. Surely if they shot him in the foot he would have dropped the knife? Police brutality and incompetence in SA....

 

Officers are taught to shoot the center mass. The foot is a small target area and can easily missed. 

Be Quiet. Listen and learn.

Non-lethal weapons are made for these types of things.  Pretty sure a bean bag, used on bears, would do the trick.