Cape Town police station 'stormed' as drivers help taxi owner escape

A group of about 40 taxi drivers stormed a Cape Town police station last week after their boss was arrested as part of law enforcement operations.

According to the city, a taxi driver was arrested on Thursday for producing false documentation for his Toyota Avanza and was taken to the Philippi East police station.

“When the vehicle owner arrived at the police station, he admitted that the licence plate and disc were from one of his other vehicles. He too was arrested for allowing the driver to operate the vehicle with the fraudulent documents,” said JP Smith, mayoral committee member for safety and security.

While the two were being processed, the taxi owner contacted his wife to ask her to collect his possessions.

“Instead, a group of about 40 taxi drivers and owners stormed the police station, gained entry and demanded that both suspects be set free immediately. When the group saw that their demands would not be met they violently grabbed the suspects in the room and in the scuffle pushed a traffic officer against one of the tables,” said Smith in a statement.

Detectives intervened and “prevented them from assaulting the officer”.

“The group then managed to free the suspects and left the police station,” said Smith.

However, they were rearrested and have been charged for possession of fraudulent documents and escaping from lawful custody.

This was not a one-off event, said Smith. The next day, Friday, in Lotus River, he said, “a mob of people prevented law enforcement officers from arresting a suspect on drug-related charges”.

“It’s a sad day when we have people coming to the aid of suspects in the manner that we witnessed in these incidents. Communities should not allow a few perpetrators who attack enforcement staff to empower criminals in their neighbourhoods,” said Smith. 

This incident came as the city's traffic officers last week arrested 110 people, impounded 126 vehicles, confiscated 193 cellphones and issued 82,824 fines during their enforcement patrols throughout the metro.

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