3 days ago
Disciplinary action for KZN cop who drove police vehicle that had no driver's side door
KwaZulu-Natal police say they will take disciplinary steps against an officer who was captured in video driving a marked police vehicle that had a missing driver's side door.
The video has since gone viral on social media.
According to police spokesperson Colonel Robert Netshiunda, provincial police commissioner Lieutenant General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi ordered that 'disciplinary steps be taken against the police officer'.
Although the video only went viral on Monday, the video was taken on Sunday, after the police vehicle was involved in an accident with a minibus taxi in Durban North, Netshiunda said.
The driver at the time of the accident was a female warrant officer. She was trapped inside the vehicle and the door had to be removed to rescue her, said Netshiunda.
'Without the door, although in a drivable condition, the vehicle should have been towed back to the police station. Instead of following prescribed procedures, another driver, also a warrant officer, drove the vehicle to the station, endangering his life and putting the name and the image of the South African Police Service into disrepute,' said Netshiunda.
Although the vehicle was escorted by another blue-light vehicle, which the video does not show, it was not supposed to be driven 'in such an unroadworthy condition'.
Mkhwanazi added: 'We are working so hard to protect the image of the police in the province of KwaZulu-Natal, and we are doing our best to regain public trust. The management of police in KwaZulu-Natal will not allow anyone to tarnish the image by disregarding regulations and procedures. The member who was driving the vehicle, the officer who gave such an unlawful instruction for the vehicle to be driven and anyone else who was involved in the decision to have that vehicle driven in that condition will be subjected to internal disciplinary processes.'
