A senior police officer is to probe allegations of racial tension in the North East Rand Dog Unit, a spokesperson said on Wednesday.
”It is very peculiar that this type of thing should be happening in this day and age,” Superintendent Eugene Opperman said.
”We have appointed a senior police officer to look into this incident of alleged racism. We don’t know how long this is going to take.”
The Citizen newspaper reported racial tensions were ”at fever pitch” at the unit. It was apparently divided into white and black camps.
The report followed the discovery of a note a black member of the unit allegedly left on a white officer’s desk. The note apparently contains death threats against three white policemen and a female administrative officer.
The woman would be poisoned, a captain killed and the car of a dog handler bombed, read the note.
In 2000, the dog unit gained notoriety after six of its members were caught on camera setting dogs on illegal immigrants. The incident was screened on television and caused a public outrage.
Opperman said rumours of continued racism at the unit surfaced some time ago.
”We have to investigate those allegations as well as the intimidating note,” he said. – Sapa