'They killed a good policeman'
2008-07-16 12:29
Cape Town - A woman who was seen home by a policeman just hours before he was shot dead on Tuesday says he had worked hard to make the neighbourhood safe.
Inspector Lukas Nell, 35, was shot in Tamboerskloof at about 04:00 on Tuesday morning while trying to arrest a suspect. He had worked for the South African Police Service for 16 years.
Claire Jones was stranded at her office in Bo-Kaap without a car at about 22:00 on Monday, and decided to walk the four blocks to her flat in Tamboerskloof. Nell and his partner stopped to check on her.
"I didn't ask them to escort me, I just told them where I was going," said Jones.
"I left Bo-Kaap and five minutes later I saw the car on the road alongside me. They were looking for me, to see that I got home safely - without being asked."
Constant patrolls
Jones, a researcher in a production company, said she knew it was dangerous to walk home so late but felt safe because of Nell's constant patrols in the area.
"He was definitely a dedicated police officer," Cape Town central police spokesperson Captain Randall Stoffels told News24. He said members of a neighbourhood watch had e-mailed the station on Wednesday to express their gratitude for the work Nell had done.
Jones, 30, was awoken at about 03:50 on Tuesday by a volley of shots. "Soon after I heard police sirens. I just prayed: God protect the policemen who are out there."
A few hours later she got an SMS from the security guard at her block of flats. It said: "They killed a good policeman last night."
Stoffels said Nell's colleagues were too shaken to speak to the media about their friend and fellow officer.
"His colleagues who have worked with him for 16 years are taking it very hard," he said. "We are arranging trauma counselling for all the members that worked with him."
Massive manhunt
Meanwhile the unidentified suspect who shot Nell in the chest and leg was still at large. A massive manhunt was under way to find him.
Nell left behind his wife and three children aged 14, five and four.
"Police officers put themselves in so much danger and it's a huge sacrifice that we don't think of enough," said Jones.
"I feel that we don't penalise those who kill police officers strongly enough. People really don't respect the law if they don't respect the police."