Watchdog investigates 38 cases against police officers since lockdown began

The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) has recorded 38 complaints about the conduct of police officers since the 21-day lockdown started on Friday morning.

During the period, from midnight March 26 until midnight April 2, Ipid recorded two deaths in police custody, both from Limpopo.

The watchdog also recorded six deaths as a result of police action, two each in Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal and Western Cape.

Ipid recorded 12 cases of discharge of an official firearm, one of rape by a police official, 14 of assault and three cases of corruption.

Of the total complaints received, 14 were recorded in Gauteng, and Free State and KwaZulu-Natal recorded five cases each.

Eastern Cape and Mpumalanga recorded four complaints each, three complaints were recorded in Western Cape, two in Limpopo and one in Northern Cape. There were no reported complaints against police conduct in North West during the period.

Ipid announced last week that since the inception of the lockdown period, it took a proactive approach and ensured its services continued to be rendered during this period in which citizens' movements were curtailed.