KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has defended his teams after fatal shoot-outs with suspects, saying the responsibility of police officers is to protect citizens.
"I wouldn't want to argue much with those who refer to us as vigilante groups. Our task is law enforcement and we are going to protect them as well if their lives are under threat," he said in an interview with EWN.
"It's a minority who make those comments. The public, in general, is quite appreciative of the work we do."
Commenting on the deaths of six suspects wanted for seven murders and extortion who were killed during a shoot-out with police in Durban on Monday night, Mkhwanazi said: "The youngsters who unfortunately lost their lives had been responsible for mayhem in the area where they came from. You go and interview the community in that area and most are going to be excited because the people who were terrorising them are no longer around.
"It is not to say it's a good thing for them to die. But that they're not in and among society makes the public quite happy with us. We'll continue doing that as long as we operate within the law. We're not going to stop."
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Mkhwanazi says police will continue to do their job despite scrutiny
KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi has defended his teams after fatal shoot-outs with suspects, saying the responsibility of police officers is to protect citizens.
"I wouldn't want to argue much with those who refer to us as vigilante groups. Our task is law enforcement and we are going to protect them as well if their lives are under threat," he said in an interview with EWN.
"It's a minority who make those comments. The public, in general, is quite appreciative of the work we do."
Commenting on the deaths of six suspects wanted for seven murders and extortion who were killed during a shoot-out with police in Durban on Monday night, Mkhwanazi said: "The youngsters who unfortunately lost their lives had been responsible for mayhem in the area where they came from. You go and interview the community in that area and most are going to be excited because the people who were terrorising them are no longer around.
"It is not to say it's a good thing for them to die. But that they're not in and among society makes the public quite happy with us. We'll continue doing that as long as we operate within the law. We're not going to stop."
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