A minibus taxi driver in Cape Town has been arrested in connection with the horrific murder of a traffic officer.
On Friday night, 46-year-old traffic officer Deon Sampson died after being run over and dragged along by a minibus taxi during a roadblock operation in Khayelitsha in Cape Town.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security, JP Smith said in a statement that:”Officer Sampson was part of an integrated operation with SAPS [South African Police Service], and while checking the license disc on a taxi waiting in the queue at approximately [9.45pm], the driver accelerated, ran him over, and dragged him along the road for nearly 200 metres before the body dislodged.
“The rest of the officers on the scene chased after the [minibus taxi], but the driver refused to stop. They had to discharge several rounds [of ammunition] at the vehicle, before the driver was eventually apprehended off Oscar Mpetha Drive. It is alleged that he was under the influence of alcohol”.
Smith called on the SAPS to expedite investigation into the incident so that justice could be served.
The city extended its condolences to Sampson’s wife and his three children, and his extended family, as well as his colleagues in the traffic service.
