KZN commissioner orders probe into cop seen hitting man in Durban

Video shows officer assaulting a person in Point area of the city

KwaZulu-Natal police commissioner Lt-Gen Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi on Tuesday ordered an immediate investigation which will lead to disciplinary action against a police officer who was captured on video assaulting a man.

In a video taken in the Point area of Durban, a police officer can be seen assaulting a person who seemingly did not pose any danger to the officer. Another officer is seen trying to calm down his colleague.

Mkhwanazi said police officers were not above the law and the police uniform did not give officers any powers to disregard the law and be the law unto themselves.

“If the man in the video had committed any crime, police should have either detained him or effected an arrest, instead of committing the crime of assault,” said Mkhwanazi.

He said the act of assaulting another person was a criminal offence and the police officer who was seen assaulting a civilian in the video should face the music.

“We cannot allow a situation where the gains of hard-working police officers are reversed by unprofessional conduct of certain individuals within our ranks,” he said.

According to Mkhwanazi, police officers are servants of the public and should treat their clients with respect.

He called on community members to continue to report any abuse of power by police so that unprofessional conduct can be addressed and corrected.

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