Civilian deaths at the hands of police are in the spotlight in South Africa‚ and not just the United States where widespread protests took place this week.In one year there were 396 deaths as a result of South African police action and 244 deaths in custody‚ the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) said in its annual report for 2014/15.The police watchdog is obligated to investigate deaths in police custody or as a result of police action‚ as well as complaints of torture‚ assault and discharging of firearms.A total of 5 879 cases were reported to IPID‚ of which 3 711 were assault cases and 940 were complaints about the use of official firearms.The shooting of robbery suspect Khulekani Mpanza by police made national headlines in October last year. He had dropped his gun and was lying down when he was shot. The incident was captured on CCTV footage.“A shot hits his arm and he falls to the ground‚ dropping his gun. As he lies writhing on the pavement‚ injured and trapped between a fence and a delivery van — his firearm out of reach — a policeman puts a bullet through his chest‚” is how the Sunday Times reported on the footage.“Another walks up to him and kicks him as he lies bleeding. Then the police constable who has just shot him in the chest has a brief word with a colleague. The constable repositions himself‚ stretches out his arms‚ takes aim and finishes him off. Blood runs onto the pavement.”An investigation by The Guardian into police shootings in the US revealed that in the first 24 days of 2015‚ they fatally shot more people than police did in England and Wales‚ combined‚ over the past 24 years...