COPS GET STONED

Manenberg police officers are hartseer after being stoned by mense as they were arresting cable diewe.

Cops patrolling on Tuesday night caught the suspects red-handed digging up electrical cables on the corner of Thames and Vygieskraal.

But while taking the skelms into custody, mense started gooiing klippe at the officers, leaving one member with serious groin injuries.

A 41-year-old male suspect was arrested and will be charged with the theft of cables, however community members were complicit in the escape of another suspect.

Manenberg station commander Brigadier Jayce Naidoo has slammed the “barbaric behaviour”, saying it will not be tolerated.

Naidoo says: “Manenberg SAPS has gone to lengths to establishing partnerships with the community and gaining trust,  yet we are viciously attacked members are hurt and vehicles are destroyed.

“Stone throwing is another lawless action condoned by the community this encourages gangsterism. The community will continue to experience lawlessness because of their direct involvement.”

He warned that they will be taking a zero-tolerance approach to mense who interfere in policing.

Naidoo further stated: “Any parent entertaining lawless behaviour or are part of this criminal behaviour will be met with zero tolerance and they should not expect any leniency during policing action to bring calm to a volatile area plagued with gang activity.

“The community faces an implosion unless they find a moral regeneration course to plot from within. Persons calling themselves community crime activists need to stand up and speak up and speak out in order to change the face.

“It is heart breaking when the very people we try to protect and demand policing services attack us as law enforcement.

“Cable theft is a huge concern within the Manenberg residential area. The destruction and theft of critical infrastructure leads to the contribution of other priority crimes.

"It seems as if the community don't want services within Manenberg to uplift the area. These acts of violence perpetrated by the community, affects service delivery.”

Manenberg Community Policing Forum (CPF) deputy chairperson Vanessa Adriaanse told the Daily Voice that the CPF is teleurgesteld.

She says: “We constantly come to the community in forms of imibizos and ask them to partner with SAPS so that we can have a better partnership and better understanding.

“It is winter and getting dark early, so we cannot condone our cables being stolen in the heart of winter, we are not saying that at any given time that it is okay but especially in winter.

“We cannot fathom and understand it. SAPS is doing their best to assist and we also call on City police to assist us.

“Manenberg SAPS is understaffed and have limited vehicles and here we are stoning the last that we have that we need to depend on.

“We want to appeal to the community, we know SAPS is not perfect… but we cannot accept this kind of behaviour.”

Anyone with information can contact Manenberg SAPS 021 699 9400 or Crime stop 08600 10111.