JMPD officers in woman street vendor outrage

VIDEO screengrabs

show two JMPD officers trying to

force Lebogang Pule into the back of their vehicle as bystanders look

on in Olivedale on Sunday. The officers issued Pule a R3 700 fine and later drove off as the crowd grew

bigger.

A SOWETO mother of six says she is happy for the support she received from the Olivedale residents after two Joburg metro police officers tried to force her into the back of the police vehicle.

Her crime, apparently, was to sell pet beds on the side road of the affluent residential area.

Lebogang Pule says the officers, a male and female, approached her on Sunday and ordered her to leave the area or give them “cooldrink money”.

Pule said the officers became violent towards her after she refused to pay the bribe. “The officers asked to see my ID which I do not carry with me because I am South African. They told me I was not co-operating after I refused to give them the bribe. The male officer started manhandling me and tried to force me into the back of the JMPD vehicle.”

Members of the community, who saw the commotion, stopped and recorded the incident, uploading it on social media a few days ago.

In the video Pule is seen crying and pleading with the two officers while attempting to remove the animal beds from the back seat of the JMPD vehicle.

The person recording the video is believed to be Pule’s client who had come to collect the beds he ordered a day earlier.

In the video he says: “You are abusing a woman, what is going on here? Listen guys, come on, the lady is trying to make a living, you don’t have a heart. Come on, I’m recording you guys.

“Is this what South African police do to somebody who is trying to make a living. Sorry, can I please have your badge numbers, are you stealing this woman's things?”

The officers issued Pule a R3700 fine and later drove off after the crowd grew bigger.

Joburg metro police spokesperson Xolani Fihla said the matter was being investigated by the internal affairs unit.