A police officer has been killed in friendly-fire by a colleague after eight police officers responded to a domestic violence case on the KwaZulu-Natal south coast on Sunday night, November 3.
A second officer was wounded in the incident, which is to be probed by the the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid).
Kamogelo Mogotsi, spokesperson for the Police Ministry said the incident occurred while eight officers from the Public Order Police and the Port Shepstone K-9 Unit were conducting an operation in response to a complaint about alleged domestic violence.
During a tactical move, a stun grenade was thrown into one of the rooms. Tragically, a female officer misinterpreted the circumstances and believed her squad was under assault, prompting her to fire her R-5 rifle.
This led to the death of one officer and injury to another.
Senzo Mchunu, the Minister of Police, expressed his sympathies to the families, friends, and colleagues of the police officers involved in the incident.
“Our thoughts are especially with the family of the Public Order Police member who lost his life in this unfortunate event,” said Mchunu.
“We also send our prayers for the full recovery of the K-9 Unit member who sustained injuries. We remain committed to supporting those impacted by this tragedy and will do everything possible to ensure that such incidents are prevented in the future.”
Mchunu also called for caution in the execution of operations.
“We have been informed by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) that a full investigation is under way to understand the circumstances surrounding this incident,” added the minister.
He encouraged Ipid to accelerate its investigations so that all impacted parties might receive clarification and closure as soon as possible. This probe is critical for establishing accountability and learning crucial lessons to avoid similar tragedies in the future.
“We call on all law enforcement teams to exercise utmost caution in planning and executing operations, particularly those involving high-risk situations.”
IOL