Cape Town - The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) is probing a case of culpable homicide following the death of a homeless man, after police lost control of their vehicle during a high-speed chase.
Police spokesperson FC van Wyk said the incident occurred on Sunday at about 2.10pm on the corner of Bill Bezuidenhout and Old Paarl Road, in Bellville, where an unidentified man was fatally injured.
Van Wyk directed all enquiries to Ipid spokesperson Grace Langa, who said while pursuing a vehicle that had no registration plate, from Voortrekker Road in Bellville, the police vehicle struck a traffic light pole. An innocent bystander who stood next to the traffic light was struck, she said.
“The injured person was declared dead at the scene, while the silver Toyota that police were pursuing managed to flee,” Langa said. No police officers were injured.
She said the deceased man aged about 30 was homeless.
Langa said a lead was being followed to locate the man’s family.
Emergency Medical and Forensic Pathology Services (FPS) spokesperson Deanna February said a body was brought to the FPS in Tygerberg.
February said that the post-mortem process had not commenced, and the deceased remained unidentified, and hence unclaimed.
Criminologist at Stellenbosch University's political science department, Guy Lamb said looking at statistics for the Ipid’s annual report for April 1, 2020 to March 31, 2021, it stated that it has investigated 10 incidents where a police officer, in an official vehicle, had collided with pedestrians.
Lamb said far more people die from being shot with a service firearm, “but in this kind of case, it obviously depends on the police, so, some police are a bit more considerate when they drive, they are concerned about bystanders being affected by this”.
“In some instances, we see police officers giving chase and gunfire is exchanged, and bystanders are injured as a result. Sometimes bystanders die because of being shot and, in some cases, pedestrians are hit by vehicles,” he said.
Lamb said that he has seen a number of cases where police have been negligent in their driving but, sometimes in high-speed chases, where police are attempting to apprehend suspects, bystanders get injured or killed as a result of that.
Anyone with information can contact Crime Stop anonymously at 08600 10111 or via the MySAPSApp.