Police Die in Hail of Bullets

Lycanthrope

Lycanthrope

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When police confronted a group of men wanted for the shooting of a fellow officer, the firefight that broke out was so vicious that one constable described it as "war".

When the shooting stopped around midnight on Friday, two police were dead and a third was injured. One of the suspects was also injured and is in hospital.

The two dead are a woman reservist who turned 30 last month, and a superintendent who would have been 43 on Wednesday.

Constable Nomathamsanqa Gilidobo of Bloekombos was married just three months ago. Superintendent Gregory Galvin of Kraaifontein leaves his a wife, a 10 -year-old son and a six-year-old daughter.

The third policeman, a member of the dog unit, was shot in the arm and is in hospital.

The drama began before midnight on Friday in Bloekombos when police were alerted to the presence of a group of five men wanted for the shooting and wounding of Constable Eddie Fortuin a month ago.

Police spokesperson Captain Gerhard Niemand said when the police approached the suspects in Nomazi Road, they opened fire.

"They had no choice but to shoot back," he said. "One of the gunmen was so brutal, he was shooting all over the place."

This man was wounded and was the only one of the five to be arrested. He is in hospital under police guard.

"As soon as the situation allowed, the injured police were taken to hospital in a police van," said Niemand.

"Two officers died later because of their wounds."

Gilidobo's partner, Ntsidiseng Lebesana, who is also a reservist, said she had not seen the officers being shot. As soon as she heard the gunshots she hit the ground.

"I was scared, but there was nothing I could do," she said. "The next thing I saw, they were taking people to hospital."

Gilidobo's husband, Ayizimene, surrounded by mourning family and friends yesterday, said they had only been married for three months after their wedding in February.

"She always loved her work, even if she was a reservist. She worked almost every day and she hated being absent," he said.

"I'm so angry, so sad," he said. "What they did is wrong, I don't have anyone now."

Station commissioner Director Moses Memela of Kraaifontein police station, where both officers were based, said the entire station had been rocked by the killing.

"It's like any household. It feels like we've lost family members - there's no other words that can explain losing them."

Finding the other four suspects and bringing them to justice will be a priority for the station.

Meanwhile, premier-in-waiting Helen Zille has lashed out at the murder of peninsula police officers.

"The tragic news of the death of the police officer and reservist at the hands of criminals is a serious setback for efforts to fight crime in the Western Cape," she said.

"We will leave no stone unturned to get to the bottom of this matter, and to bring the murderers to book. Our sincerest condolences go out to the families of the officers who sacrificed their lives in the fight against crime."

Last October Philippi police constable Bulelani Ndita was shot during a shoot-out in Brown's Farm.

In the same month, Constable Makhikhaya Somdaka of Lingelethu West was shot and killed.

In July, 35-year-old Inspector Lukas Nell of Parow was gunned down while chasing a burglar in Tamboerskloof. This shooting came just three days after a police captain was gunned down and killed in Langa.
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Source: News24

There really seems to be a lot of police murders in the news lately... Police shooting criminals, police getting shot at - it's a morbid tug-of-war...
 
Gregory was in primary school with me.

*sigh*

The good cops are out there dying and the bad cops are in office implementing the FCA...
 
so sad. They are heroes for wanting to protect the public. They gave their lives. This is the real "struggle" ... the one against crime. Would you be willing to lay down your life for people you don't even really know? Respect.
 
marine1 said:
But hold on according to grayston the expert, this is the fault of the police for carrying firearms :rolleyes: :mad:

Condolences :(:(
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Ja, silly of them hey? They should have just approached the criminals with their hands in the air and the criminals would have surrendered.
 
marine1 said:
But hold on according to grayston the expert, this is the fault of the police for carrying firearms :rolleyes: :mad:

Condolences :(:(
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If criminals know the cops are going to shoot to kill, they're going to shoot first. And if this carries on then sooner or later the cops will be just as violent as the criminals they're supposed to be protecting us from.

Yee-haw, huh, cowboy?
 
grayston said:
If criminals know the cops are going to shoot to kill, they're going to shoot first. And if this carries on then sooner or later the cops will be just as violent as the criminals they're supposed to be protecting us from.

Yee-haw, huh, cowboy?
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um, I hate to rain on your pretty little parade but your argument is flawed. South Africa used to have a policy of restraint. The government sent the message that police must hold back and do everything they could to save the lives of everybody involved, even the perpetrators. The only problem was... that policy never worked. The criminals were still shooting first and shooting to kill. That's when last year the new directive came down... "save your own life first".

Your policy also does not take into account the factor that sooner or later the police will clamp down on the source of the illegal weapons and then the criminals will be on the back foot. That is... if they are not all wiped out first. This is war, but the police did not start it.

Sooner or later you or someone you love will be killed in a senseless shooting by a criminal who did not have to shoot, but shot anyway. Then you might understand the utter futility of your ridiculous policy.
 
Why are they sending reservists to take on cops killers? Very sad indeed, pity they only caught one of those 5 bastids.
 
Okay - this is the second time in recent weeks that cops have gone into a group of thugs and have been guinned down. I suppose, cruelly, I could say that this is Darwin's theory at work.

I would not suggest that the cops arrive with guns blazing - we've had enough cases of them gunning down innocents too. But they should arrive with weapons drawn. The US cops seem to have the right idea (and, sure, some of them are killed too). Far better to take suspects on ready to kill them than find out that they are quicker on the draw than you.
 
Garyvdh said:
um, I hate to rain on your pretty little parade but your argument is flawed. South Africa used to have a policy of restraint. The government sent the message that police must hold back and do everything they could to save the lives of everybody involved, even the perpetrators. The only problem was... that policy never worked. The criminals were still shooting first and shooting to kill. That's when last year the new directive came down... "save your own life first".

Your policy also does not take into account the factor that sooner or later the police will clamp down on the source of the illegal weapons and then the criminals will be on the back foot. That is... if they are not all wiped out first. This is war, but the police did not start it.

Sooner or later you or someone you love will be killed in a senseless shooting by a criminal who did not have to shoot, but shot anyway. Then you might understand the utter futility of your ridiculous policy.
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Since the "Shoot the bastards" policy there has definitely been an increase in the amount of criminals being killed in the last year. I fully support this policy.
 
manesan said:
Since the "Shoot the bastards" policy there has definitely been an increase in the amount of criminals being killed in the last year. I fully support this policy.
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As long as you don't mind the corresponding increase in the number of policemen and innocent bystanders being killed as well.

Perhaps we should just kill everyone and let God sort it out. It's the safest way, really.
 
Albereth said:
I would not suggest that the cops arrive with guns blazing - we've had enough cases of them gunning down innocents too. But they should arrive with weapons drawn. The US cops seem to have the right idea (and, sure, some of them are killed too). Far better to take suspects on ready to kill them than find out that they are quicker on the draw than you.
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Without question, and particularly in cases where those being approached are known armed offenders. The police should not shoot first, but they should be ready to open fire.

grayston said:
As long as you don't mind the corresponding increase in the number of policemen and innocent bystanders being killed as well.
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Criminals shoot unarmed people during robberies. I see no evidence that they're shooting at the police because the police are armed.
 
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marine1 said:
But hold on according to grayston the expert, this is the fault of the police for carrying firearms :rolleyes: :mad:

Condolences :(:(
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+1.

grayston said:
If criminals know the cops are going to shoot to kill, they're going to shoot first. And if this carries on then sooner or later the cops will be just as violent as the criminals they're supposed to be protecting us from.

Yee-haw, huh, cowboy?
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Idiot here reckons the criminals get violent because of the police. :rolleyes: Any other suggestions?
 
killadoob said:
Why are they sending reservists to take on cops killers? Very sad indeed, pity they only caught one of those 5 bastids.
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They were on duty and responded to the complaint along with their PF colleagues, it part of the job.

Most reservists I know are a 110% dedicated to the job and are more likely to go the extra mile than some of the PF members.

Albereth, those officers proberly did have their guns drawn when they approached the scene, however there are numerous factors to consider
- Did they have a clear view of the suspects
- Were they clearly able to identify the suspects
- Were there innocent civilians in the area near the suspects
- Could they see that the suspect had a firearm
- What was the visibility like, light, dark shadows?

Taking down armed suspects is not easy, especially when the suspect does not care if he hits innocent people, the police have to be very carefully when shooting towards a built up area as you may wound or kill a innocent party.

I have been shot at while chasing suspects over open ground at night, however we could not return fire as the suspects had shacks behind them and the chances of hurting a innocent person was to high. We just hit the dirt and watched them dissapear amongst the shacks.
 
grayston said:
You seriously don't see the correlation? I'm not attacking you - I honestly just want to know.
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If you ask me it's the other way around. Police carry firearms because criminals are usually dangerous. So I'm still waiting for your precious suggestion to this problem?
 
Slootvreter said:
If you ask me it's the other way around. Police carry firearms because criminals are usually dangerous. So I'm still waiting for your precious suggestion to this problem?
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Police have been told to shoot to kill. Criminals have an aversion to being killed and they don't have to worry about accidentally killing innocent bystanders because - well, THEY'RE CRIMINALS - so they're now even more likely to start shooting.
 
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grayston said:
Police have been told to shoot to kill. Criminals have an aversion to being killed and they don't have to worry about accidentally killing innocent bystanders because - well, THEY'RE CRIMINALS - so they're now even more likely to start shooting.
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They've been instructed to shoot to kill because of the high number of police officers being shot or killed by criminals. :rolleyes:
 
Slootvreter said:
They've been instructed to shoot to kill because of the high number of police officers being shot or killed by criminals. :rolleyes:
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Yes, and now we have to deal with even more violent criminals because we have even more violent policemen.

At the end of the day all this means is more bullets are flying around, more people are dying, and certified idiots are celebrating because they feel this is progress.

I'm sorry but I don't see this as a good thing.
 
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