WHEN residents of Umlazi, south of Durban, saw the men and women in blue on their streets, they were happy.
But their happiness was short-lived as they now feel the cops deployed in the area are abusive.
The now-fed-up residents told Daily Sun cops were allegedly giving innocent people and those out having a good time hot klaps while thugs were roaming the streets.
One resident said she was with her friends at a local shisa nyama in R Section when cops, some in uniform, apparently stormed the venue.
“They started shouting at and kicking people. This gave us a fright. We were shocked as we had hoped they were patrolling and looking for criminals, but they harassed us.”
She said police allegedly kicked people around, including drunk women.
“We were afraid that all we did was hide as we didn’t know why we were attacked in such a brutal manner,” she said.
Another resident said this was making them hate cops.
“Instead of them running after thugs and those who terrorise us, they beat up people at shisa nyamas. We can’t wait for them to leave our area,” he said.
Police spokeswoman Constable Thenjisiwe Ngcobo said complainants should visit the branch commander to seek help.
