Killer fear factor

South African cops are trigger happy because they are scared of being killed and aren't properly trained to deal with the violence they encounter.

That's the view of Institute for Security Studies (ISS) policing researcher Johan Burger after a police shooting in Cape Town yesterday.

Two McDonald's employees were killed and five injured after a vehicle taking employees home was fired on - allegedly by police who were pursuing suspects involved in a petrol station robbery nearby.

Two other people believed to be involved in the robbery were also shot dead.

The incident in Kuils River, Cape Town, comes three weeks after a similar incident in the Table View area in which one woman died when a vehicle transporting Nando's employees home was fired on by police. In this case the vehicle was also allegedly mistaken for a vehicle that had been involved in a robbery in the area.

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is investigating both shootings.

Burger said 86 police officers had been murdered in 2014/15, and that a fear of being killed and a lack of police training and psychological conditioning was to blame for police member's readiness to open fire.

"Besides the officers who have been injured and carry psychological scars from such incidents, there are many more who have stood by the open graves of their colleagues during funerals," Burger said.

"I think in the subconscious of police members there is the fear that they could be next and they vow not to let that happen. There is the fear that if they don't shoot first they will be victims. The question is how are you going to teach the police to cope with this fear in a rational way so that this doesn't happen again."

Burger said police involved in yesterday's shooting would have to prove that they had reason to think that the occupants of the taxi transporting the McDonald's employees posed a serious threat to them or to the public.

Police yesterday refused to comment on the incident, referring queries to Ipid.

Ipid spokesman Robbie Raburabu said the police thought that the taxi carrying McDonald's employees was connected to the robbers after it allegedly "obstructed" police from getting to the robbers' getaway vehicle.

"They obstructed the police's way in trying to get to the vehicle, which gave police the idea that they were together. The (getaway) taxi had five robbers inside, and the police allege they were shooting at them.

"The initial info is that the police did not have their blue lights on so even if there were warnings they were not sufficient," said Raburabu.

Raburabu said they did not know whether the remaining suspects had been apprehended or injured.

A statement released by McDonald's chief executive Greg Solomon yesterday said support was being provided to those involved in the incident, the families of the victims and the staff in the restaurant, and that trauma counselling would take place.

"The safety and security of our staff is of the utmost importance to us. We are working closely with the relevant authorities in their investigation.

"We are shocked, horrified and deeply saddened at the death of two of our valued employees and the injuries sustained by five others. Our thoughts and condolences go out to the family and friends of our Kuils River team."

Asked for further detail, the company said: "We are dealing with the trauma of the situation right now and trying to ensure we provide the necessary support to our people on the ground."

On February 24 Nando's employee Phumeza Fudumele was shot dead after police opened fire on a taxi taking Nando's employees home after their shift had ended.

Fellow employee Zanele Dineka was shot in the leg.

Nando's business development director Trudi van Niekerk said they were in a "state of shock" that yesterday's incident could have happened so quickly after the killing of one of their employees.

She said Ipid had still not taken statements from witnesses in the Nando's shooting, weeks after the incident occurred.

"Our attorneys have escalated the matter to Vusi Pikoli (Western Cape police ombudsman), who organised that Ipid take statements from employees" tomorrow.

"[But] one of the fundamental flaws about Ipid is that they don't have their own forensic team which means they use the police which is problematic," she said.

Dineka still has a bullet lodged in her leg and Van Niekerk said they were getting a second opinion today after doctors said it was too dangerous to operate to remove the bullet.

The fast-food chain has hired forensic investigator David Klatzow to help "try to understand how this could have happened".