Cops' fatal 'shoot-out' is questioned

16 July 2017 - 00:02 By TANYA STEENKAMP

A Johannesburg family are looking for answers after their son was gunned down by Johannesburg metro police in mysterious circumstances three weeks ago."I just want to find out what happened and make sure it doesn't happen to anyone else because it's hell," said Elsa Tzouganatos, mother of Raymond Tzouganatos, 30.Tzouganatos was on his way home from work on June 28 when he encountered a roadblock in Doornfontein at about 8pm. SAPS Captain Richard Munyai and metro police spokesman Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar claim Tzouganatos refused to stop and bumped an officer, who jumped out of the way. Three officers shot at the vehicle as it drove off. Tzouganatos, they said, then made a U-turn and drove down the road running parallel in the opposite direction. The officers shot until the car stopped.His family were told by metro police officers of his death the next day. "Eventually [they said] that he was in a shoot-out," Tzouganatos's uncle Angelo Tzouganatos said. But Tzouganatos did not own a gun, he said.Lobo das Neves, an international law-enforcement expert, is assisting the Independent Police Investigative Directorate investigation and said: "There is no doubt the police actions were unlawful." The SAPS and metro police said the matter was under investigation...

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