Cop shoots motorist

Paballo Thekiso

Road rage is a fact of life in congested cities all over South Africa. But yesterday morning a Joburg driver let his anger boil over – and was almost killed as a result.

The 29-year-old Fordsburg man should have thought twice. He became so enraged by the driver of the red Golf who cut him off in peak hour traffic yesterday morning that he wove in and out of traffic to catch up with him – and when he did, he got out of his car, drew his gun and used it to smash two of the Golf’s windows.

But unbeknown to him, it was an unmarked police car with two plainclothes Metro Police officers inside.

The driver drew his service pistol, leapt out of the car and, together with his partner, gave chase.

In a scene reminiscent of an action movie, motorists along Barry Hertzog Drive in Auckland Park were stunned as the drama played out in front of them.

According to a witness, the man stopped at a street corner, out of breath.

The officers called on him to give up and put down his gun. He wouldn’t and taunted the officers, telling them to kill him. The officer who had drawn his gun then shot the man in the leg.

And just like that the man’s bravado turned to remorse.

Another witness recounted how, after the man was shot, he burst into tears, begging the officers to shoot him again. He asked them to make sure that that the shot was fatal.

He said he didn’t want to live because he had marital difficulties and death was the best option.

A woman believed to be a family member who had apparently been in the car with him, rushed to his side and was seen cradling his head, telling him to be strong as he lay writhing on the ground as paramedics bandaged his leg.

Johannesburg Metro Police Department spokesman, Wayne Minnaar, said the man would be charged for attempted murder and malicious damage to property for pointing his firearm at the metro police officers and damaging the JMPD vehicle.

Minnaar said the suspect had told investigators that the metro officer had “offended” him because the officer had suggested he had been driving recklessly.

This then apparently led to the man speeding through traffic to catch up with the officer.

“The suspect said he got out of his car and hit the side window with a firearm and then pointed the firearm at the police officer who got out his car … and shot the suspect in his right leg.

“There will be an internal as well as a criminal investigation,” Minnaar said.

The suspect, who remains unnamed, will only be charged once he is released from the Charlotte Maxeke Johannesburg Academic Hospital, where he is currently being treated.