Uniformed SAPS Officer Caught On Camera Walking Out Of Shop Without Paying — Video Surfaces

On Wednesday, footage of a uniformed officer from the South African Police Service walking out of a store with a sack of goods in tow without pausing at the register went trending online. Within hours of its release, the video had thousands of views and depicted an officer carrying merchandise out of the store as stunned customers looked on. Nobody on staff stopped the person. The establishment’s location is still being confirmed.

Upon closer inspection, viewers of the video could tell the officer’s rank because he was wearing a full uniform of the South African Police Service (SAPS), including a visible service belt. Rather than using the checkout lanes, the shopper allegedly plundered various shelves for their contents before making a beeline for the exit. Shareholders in the community demanded immediate action by tagging the South African Police Service’s national account and the Independent Police Investigative Directorate in the video. As of the publication of this news, the store’s administration had not made any official statement verifying the filing of a formal criminal complaint.

Divisional leadership was made aware of the video, according to Brigadier Athlenda Mathe, a spokesperson for the South African Police Service (SAPS). The footage is currently being reviewed by the appropriate provincial commissioner’s office, Mathe informed this publication on Thursday morning. A departmental misconduct process will be initiated promptly in the event that the officer is positively identified. IPID, the civilian agency charged with investigating police misconduct, has verified receiving three separate tips pertaining to the same recording.

In the wake of multiple high-profile misconduct hearings in the past few months, the South African police force has been under intense scrutiny regarding internal discipline. All station commanders were asked to resubmit their declaration-of-interest forms by March as part of the renewed integrity campaign that the SAPS National Commissioner initiated earlier this year. When police officers abuse the power their uniforms give them in civilian areas, critics say administrative exercises like these don’t matter because there isn’t consistent accountability at the ground level.

A young woman with a shopping basket in her arms stood motionless in the middle of the aisle, her mouth slightly agape as she followed the officer’s every move through the glass doors and out onto the pavement outside. Absolutely still. That one still image, which lasted for about four seconds, became the part that hundreds of commentors said they could not get out of their heads.

So far, no one has been taken into custody. The public does not yet have access to the case number. The identity of the store, the officer, and the items are all still unknown. The next sworn law enforcer will surely follow suit if the current one can leave without repercussions.

Treading-updatess feedback-opera-news-app@opera.com