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Jhb cops were 'cannon fodder'
30/06/2006 14:36 - (SA)
Johannesburg - The deaths of four policemen could have been avoided if more officers had been sent to the Jeppestown house where they were killed in a shoot-out with robbers, the Democratic Alliance (DA) said on Friday.
"The Jeppestown massacre looks like a huge operational failure in that the cops were ordered into a situation where they were faced with 20 armed murderers and used as cannon fodder," said DA safety and security spokesperson Roy Jankielsohn.
"Why was a much larger force not used? Surely there was something wrong with operational methods.
"Instead of sending in police officers to be slaughtered, the whole operation could have, and should have, been better handled."
Jankielsohn's comments came a day after a memorial for the policemen slain in a stand-off on Sunday with a gang believed to have robbed a Pick'n'Pay supermarket.
Calls ignored for more security
He accused African National Congress politicians of falling over each other with comments like "enough is enough" and "shoot back" during the service on Thursday.
"Political spin doctors and publicists are desperately trying to convince the public that the massacre of four brave police officers was not the fault of the politicians or of senior people in the SA Police Service.
"The brutal truth is that people like (Safety and Security Minister Charles Minister Nqakula) the Gauteng MEC for Community Safety (Firoz Cachalia) and others have ignored repeated DA calls to provide proper training, support and numbers for our police officers," Jankielsohn added.
He said statements by police that the operation was conducted by the book did not "impress".
"The book does require people to be slaughtered. Reinforcement might have made a huge difference."
Jankielsohn said ANC ministers and officials were trying to grab headlines in an effort to cover their own confusion, embarrassment and culpability.
Inspectors Frederick "Frikkie" van Heerden, 32, and Victor Nzama Mathye, 49, both of the West Rand dog unit; Sergeant Gert Schoeman, 30, of the West Rand emergency response service; and Constable Pieter Seaward, 31, of the Johannesburg dog unit were the policemen who died on Sunday.
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