WATCH | 'Hey you, I’ll slap you': EMPD officers probed for 'threatening' onlooker

12 December 2018 - 14:30 By Nonkululeko Njilo
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Two Ekurhuleni metro police officers have come under fire after video footage of them threatening to slap an onlooker went viral on social media. The man was filming a Lamborghini in Daveyton on December 9 2018 when police officers approached him, saying he did not have permission to film.

Ekurhuleni's metro police department (EMPD) has confirmed that an internal investigation is under way after officers allegedly threatened to slap a person filming them at the scene of an incident involving a green Lamborghini.

"I've just got information that the complainant came in on Tuesday and was interviewed by our internal affairs unit and a statement was submitted by him," EMPD spokesperson Wilfred Kgasago said on Wednesday.

Kgasago said the complainant was the man who filmed the incident and was subsequently threatened by the officers. 

The video was shared and made the rounds on social media where some commentators described the officers as "bullies".

In the video, four EMPD vehicles are seen in the road around the sports car. Upon realising that they are being filmed, one of the officers strides up to the person filming the incident.  Another joins him and they point fingers at the person recording the video.

"Yey yey, susa lephone, susa lephone, ngzok’shaya ngempama, uyicele kuban persmission, ngith uyicele kuban permission," they say — loosely translated to, "Hey you, remove that phone, I’ll slap you, where did you get the permission [to film us]?"

The man respond by saying: "Ningshayelani?" - "Why are you assaulting me?"

He goes on to tell officers: "I don’t see a Lamborghini every day, I never see Lamborghini every day, no I don’t want to fight with you." 

The EMPD said the officers would be interviewed and asked to submit statements.

"Thereafter, the chief of staff will make a determination as to the initiation of a disciplinary process," said Kgasago.

It is unclear if the man filming the officers was in fact assaulted.


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