Heather Hogan
When Sergeant Hendrik de Klerk (26) used only his hands to arrest an armed bank robber outside a bank in Hillbrow earlier this year, he never imagined he would be awarded the Top Cop of the Year award.
When the robber shot at him, he disregarded his own safety: his only thought was for the safety of the citizens in the street. He overpowered the man and shot the robber’s accomplice, recovering a second firearm and stolen money.
De Klerk has won this award for two years consecutively, yet his achievement has not gone to his head.
“I’m surprised that I won this award. It’s nice to know the police are appreciated,” says De Klerk. “In a way though, I’m also sad because there are a lot of cops who work as hard as me and who don’t get recognition. We are all a part of the same team though and this award should be for the whole force.”
De Klerk joined the police nine years ago. Admitting that he’s a bit of an adrenalin junkie, he describes his job as interesting and exciting. “Sergeant de Klerk is a role model,” says Sergeant Kriban Naidoo, communications officer at Hillbrow police station.
“Usually the novelty of playing the hero wears off after a year or two. De Klerk is different, I’ve never seen such dedication before.”
De Klerk, who works in the crime tracing unit in Hillbrow, has gone above and beyond the call of duty.
De Klerk has personally opened 192 dockets, and made countless arrests since January, without taking a day off. He has worked countless hours of overtime and never lost or damaged any state property. Instead, he uses his own money to help the many informants he has recruited to keep in contact with the station.
De Klerk has dealt with several high- profile cases including the arrest of a suspect who was later brought to court on 180 charges.
At the ceremony held in Parktown, Gauteng, this week, De Klerk accepted the award on behalf of all police and said: “As rainbow warriors of South Africa we will win the war against crime and prove that South Africa is the number one country in Africa.”