Two police officers who attempted to arrest a Pretoria News photographer as he took pictures of them arresting a suspected thief are to be investigated for assault, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) said on Friday.
ICD national spokesperson Moses Dlamini said the directorate would be investigating allegations of assault against the two officers.
Pretoria News chief photographer Masi Losi rushed out of the building to take pictures of a mob that had caught a suspected thief. Police arrived and arrested the suspect, but then according to the staffer, who spoke to the South Africa Press Association at the time, the two officers turned on Losi and attempted to take his camera.
The following day the newspaper published pictures of the two police officers grabbing Losi.
Earlier this week it was reported that Gauteng Police Commissioner Lieutenant-General Mzwandile Petros had apologised for the incident and that the two officers were supposed to meet Losi and apologise to him on Tuesday.
The two failed to turn up and Losi said he had been willing to consider their apology, as he did not want them to lose their jobs because of him.
Dlamini said: “The Executive Director of the ICD, Mr Francois Beukman, has instructed the Gauteng provincial office of the ICD to launch an investigation into police conduct in the incident. The outcome of the investigation will be made known once it’s been concluded.”
Dlamini said that Beukman had urged other journalists who may have been victims of similar assaults or attacks to report them to an ICD office near them. — Sapa