Wild West Police

Recently I posted a recording of police Colonel Scanlen refusing to open a case (see Police Stop Raid-Reports). In this clip (above), Shift Commander Captain Scholtz has resisted opening a case, but I have insisted on my rights. He has now called in Warrant Officer Samuels to back him up. They are both now in my company. Warrant Officer Samuels states (click ⊳ to Play) that the Shift Commander decides whether “we can prosecute or not” (of course, it is the prosecutor who decides, not the police). I splice the sound here with a beep. Captain Scholtz then discovers that I am “wired” – and denies that we ever spoke about “prosecution”. OBSERVATION: Many people do not understand: in many cases, South Africa is now governed like the Wild West. I do not say this loosely. In the Wild West, the sheriff ruled – or in his absence, his deputy. They had “responsibility for managing the colonies”. In South Africa, in many cases, the power no longer lies with the prosecution or the courts, but with police officers, who are so to speak deputy sheriffs. In my experience, these are officers of about the rank of Captain. Our local Community Police Forum reports a similar tendency.