Timeline of shame
SEPTEMBER: The head of security and emergency services company Reaction Unit SA, Prem Balram, said his staff had responded to an accident in which a policeman allegedly involved reported having chest pains.
“The man was taken to the eThekwini Heart Hospital. While en route he demanded that the RUSA paramedics drop him on the side of the road because he had been drinking in a state marked vehicle.
“We were unable to do that and took him to the hospital. While waiting for treatment the man fled the scene.”
He said that the matter had, however, not been reported to police.
AUGUST: A Pietermaritzburg policeman was caught napping with a bottle of alcohol between his legs. An inquiry is pending.
MARCH: The Mercury reported on a shocking video clip of an apparently drunk policeman being confronted by a motorist he almost crashed into.
The 25-second video was posted on Facebook and shows a man wearing a police uniform half slumped in the seat of a white VW Polo he is driving. He appears to be drunk and has a cigarette in his right hand.
The incident happened in St John’s Avenue in Pinetown about 6am.
The voice of the man taking the video can be heard demanding answers before the policeman reverses the vehicle and flees.
The motorist said he did not report the matter to police for fear of being victimised.
Police spokesman Colonel Jay Naicker confirmed that a disciplinary investigation had been launched after the incident came to light. But before it could be finalised, the police officer resigned.
MARCH: A Durban policeman who was off duty allegedly drove into a group of Hindu devotees performing rites in Eastbury Drive, Phoenix.
According to reports, he sped off. He was chased and arrested.
The injuries ranged from fractures to a broken pelvis.
It was reported that the 38-yearold policeman had been stationed at Durban Harbour.
His car, a white Hyundai Getz, was badly damaged. The windscreen had shattered.
It emerged that two people in the car appeared to be highly intoxicated.
The policeman has appeared in court.