Minister of Police Bheki Cele said he was appalled at the rate which police officer were killed in the country after burying two officers on Saturday in different provinces.
In KwaZulu-Natal, Constable Sphesihle Cele, 26, who was in his first year of service, was shot and killed on November, 16, when he and his colleagues responded to a complaint of a man carrying a firearm inside a tavern in Empangeni.
The young officer was brutally killed by the armed man and died on the scene. The shooter was also shot and killed by police.
Meanwhile in Gauteng, Deputy Minister of Police Cassel Mathale together with the National Commissioner of the South African Police Service (SAPS), General Fannie Masemola, led proceedings of the funeral service of the late Constable Marven Maphoro.
Constable Maphoro was also shot and killed the same day as the young Constable in KZN.
He was gunned down while responding to an ATM bombing at a filling station in Thembisa, Gauteng.
Minister Cele said SAPS has lost over 70 police officers in the past seven months to criminal attacks and ambushes.
Delivering the eulogy at the funeral service in KZN, Cele expressed his revulsion on the killing of officers on and off duty.
“We are appalled that about 10 police officers have been killed every single month since April; all at the hands of criminals...This is why I will forever call on police to fight fire with fire especially when their lives are threatened. No officer must ever die with a weapons in their hands, he said.
Meanwhile, Deputy Minister Mathale urged police officers to use force proportional to the threat when under attack.
“Don’t hesitate to use the resources we have given you to defend your communities and yourselves. Don’t hesitate to use force which proportional to the threat, communities are depending on you for protection,” he said.
Masemola assured members that they will continue to be empowered to respond to criminals and crime.
“The killing of members will not deter us but instead it bolsters our efforts to fight crime. As the management of the service, the capacitation and resourcing of our members, remains an apex priority for management.
“We will continue to ensure members are tactically trained and well resourced to defend communities,” added Masemola.
IOL