The issue of an allegation that a police officer had killed a young man near the West Hills Shopping Mall refers.
When murder is suspected and a law enforcement officer is thought to have been responsible for the criminality, many tongues are wagged expectedly. Of course, the underdog in such instances is always the police.
Being law enforcement officers, cops are always blamed even before the outcome of investigations into suspected murders involving them are made public.
The subject under review is no exception. When it made it to social and the traditional media at the beginning of this week, there was nobody to speak for the police officer’s innocence.
The other side of the coin under the circumstances is often overlooked, the conclusion always obvious “the police have killed a person.” That is not to say that there have not been instances in which some cops abused their authority by not conducting themselves properly leading to avoidable homicides.
In the subject matter under review, we have cause to believe that a thorough investigation into the matter should be carried out. Our demand is informed by emerging details which suggest that contrary to what the bereaved family hold, the young man was not killed by a police officer but by circumstances yet to be established.
As contained in one of the stories in this issue, a police officer rather rushed to demand that the deceased be taken to the police station.
Little wonder, a private security person and not a police officer, has been arrested and assisting in the ongoing investigation in the matter.
Our commentary is not intended to aggravate the pain of the bereaved family who have regrettably lost a member unexpectedly. All we seek to do is demand that when such regrettable incidents take place, we should be circumspect in our remarks and conclusions.
With forensic science at our disposal, the cause of death in this rather simple case will unearth the truth.
We ask therefore, that the bereaved family be patient as the police continue their probe, the outcome of which will definitely be made public.
The quickness to nail the police who are humans too with families, is morale-dampening, the consequence can result in poor policing.
Many commentaries have been aired by persons who had little or no details about what happened on the scene their stances fed by prejudices.
The details about one of the private security persons using a taser-shock on the deceased and others are in the realm of the police as they piece the details together alongside the post-mortem report.