Cop killed in controversial circumstances described as a ‘soldier’ who was always ready to help

Constable Tshepo Tladi's colleagues have described him as a decorated‚ disciplined and dedicated colleague whose first duty was serving the community.

"It is not well with our souls‚" said Colonel A Phenya‚ the station commander at the Katlehong North Police station where Tladi was based.

• Cop’s controversial killing leaves ‘bitter taste’ among community and colleaguesThe killing of Constable Tshepo Tladi has left a bitter taste among the community of Katlehong and the South African Police Service. 

Phenya described Tladi‚ who was shot while attending to an armed robbery last week Thursday‚ as a soldier.

"He was one of those members‚ when the instructions came‚ I would start with Tladi. He was a soldier‚ because I know he was always ready to help‚" Phenya said.

The station commander said she had worked with Tladi's mother‚ Jubriel‚ who was shot and killed on duty as well.

• SA’s top cop ‘shocked and disturbed’ by video showing apparent SAPS shooting cover-upThe South African Police Service (SAPS) on Tuesday said it had sanctioned both misconduct and criminal investigations following the fatal shooting of Constable Tshepo Tladi in Katlehong last week Thursday. 

"Tladi was my child. I worked with his mother and he was like a child to me‚" she said.

Tladi and other police officers responded to an armed robbery at a petrol station in Katlehong last week‚ where his shooting was captured on CCTV footage obtained by The Times.

Initial reports from the Gauteng police spokesperson‚ Captain Kay Makhubela‚ said Tladi was shot after being "ambushed" by heavily armed robbers.

However‚ the footage appeared to show that he was shot in the back of the head by a colleague.

• 'They said robbers shot him': Video blows away cop death 'cover-up'Constable Tshepo Tladi's family were told he was shot and killed by armed robbers last week. Now they believe he was killed by a colleague, shot through the head almost at point-blank range. 

At his memorial service at the Uniting Reformed Church in Katlehong North‚ the chairperson of the local community policing forum Otto Sibeko said Tladi still had a bright future ahead of him.

"There was still a lot we expected from this disciplined‚ dedicated cadre. We were expecting a safer community and police precinct from Constable Tladi‚" Sibeko said.

"Whenever I was at the station‚ he was the first to greet me."

Sibeko and Phenya said Tladi had been one of the reliable members who had joined the Katlehong North police station when it became a full police station in 2012.

Phenya said Tladi had had just over eight years of experience as a police officer and had earned prizes including the 2010 Soccer Medal and the Centenary Medal for his dedication and hard work.

-TMG Digital/The Times