Cape Town - Confiscation of alcohol led to the shooting of two police officers in Ravensmead.
A law enforcement officer was shot and wounded and had to be rushed to hospital, while a police officer was grazed by a bullet.
Johannes Bastian of the local community policing forum (CPF) said what happened was extremely worrying.
“I was on the scene. As soon as the gangsters saw the police, they started shooting. I told the people to go into their homes, and then I saw the police helicopters. There were a lot of police officers, some were in Nyalas, and the situation was really volatile.”
He said the area was calm after people were arrested.
“I will still speak to the station commander. What started the riot was that on Thursday the police confiscated alcohol that was bought for a touch rugby tournament.
“On Friday, people went to the police station to ask for the release of the alcohol, and the police refused, so they started burning tyres on the roads on different street corners.
“The clinic, which was close to the riot, was closed at around 10am, the patients were stranded and even though Tygerberg Hospital is close to us, people couldn’t just go there.
“This incident has exposed that Ravensmead is in trouble; we only have one vehicle for complaints. We need more resources, but because crime statistics are under-reported, we will not receive any.”
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said Ravensmead detectives registered cases of attempted murder, an attack on police, public violence and intimidation. This after the altercation on Friday between police and disgruntled residents over liquor confiscated on Thursday during a police crime-combating operation.
“The liquor was found abandoned in an alley in Ravensmead.
“A 44-year-old police sergeant was grazed by a bullet on his head while a Leap officer was wounded in his leg and taken to hospital for medical treatment.
“Members have arrested 10 suspects – men between the ages of 20 and 54 – in connection with the charges.
“They are being processed and will appear in the Bellville Magistrate's Court once charged. More arrests are not excluded.
“Reinforcements have been deployed in the area to monitor and normalise the situation.”