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In what appears to be another case of police brutality, a senior police officer allegedly asked a 22-year-old man suspected to be mentally unstable “if he wanted to die because he was going to shoot him”.
Less than two minutes later, two shots rang out and people in close proximity of the shooting scattered in different directions.
Tshepiso Adoons, 22, of Tembisa on the East Rand was shot, allegedly by the officer as he sat in his shack on Monday night. Police had been dispatched to the house after receiving a call to restrain Adoons because he was being aggressive towards his family members.
Independent Police Investigative Directorate (Ipid) spokesperson Ndileka Cola said in a statement that the officer shot Adoons after he charged at him with a retractable knife. Cola said they were investigating the matter.
However, the distraught family claimed Adoons was not armed when he was shot dead.
His uncle Xolani Adoons yesterday told Sowetan his nephew did not charge at the officers.
“Tshepiso’s mental health started deteriorating in August. He would sometimes have conversations with himself where you would find him laughing as well but he was never violent,” he said.
“We don't know how Ipid released a statement that Tshepiso was carrying a knife when they were not here and did not come to take statements from us after the shooting.”
Cola said in response: “ ... please allow the investigator, as a qualified and experienced official, to structure and execute their detective duties without interference. At an appropriate time, the evidence gathered with all the witnesses that have been interviewed will be presented before the court and thus will be accessible to the public.”
Xolani Adoons said his nephew had not been mentally evaluated even though they had noticed his unstable state of mind.He said that on the day of the shooting, Tshepiso was being aggressive and threatening towards his grandmother.
“She ran out of the yard and asked the community to assist her. He was aggressive and didn’t want anyone to come into the yard.”
He said that's how the family ended up calling the police.
“Three officers arrived and they saw that Tshepiso wasn’t a threat to anyone, but also noticed something was wrong with him. They told us that we should call an ambulance and they called for backup.”
Adoons said his mother, who is Tshepiso's grandmother, told the officers the young man was not armed.
“There were a lot of officers here but then a white officer arrived and went straight to Tshepiso’s shack. He then asked Tshepiso if he wanted to die because he was going to shoot him. Less than two minutes later two shots went off and everyone ran away.”
He said the officer then went to the back of the house and called more officers to cordon off the scene.
“The other officers said Tshepiso was OK but would not allow us to see him while the cop who shot him was whisked away in a van,” he said.
“The black officers could see that something was not right and some of them did not have guns on them.”
Thembi Nkosi, a neighbour, said they attempted to calm the situation after Adoons chased his grandmother out of their yard.
“We have never seen him like that before. He didn't want anyone to enter the yard but he didn't have a knife on him [at the time].
“The white officer arrived and went inside the yard and spoke to Tshepiso for a few minutes before we heard two gunshots.”
Nkosi said she did not know what was said between the officer and Adoons.
His uncle Xolani described his nephew as reserved and quiet.
“He did odd jobs here and there but this was disrupted by Covid [lockdown] and then he started being unstable in August.”
He said despite observing the body, they were unable to identify the gun wounds.
Hard to tell if police brutality is increasing: expert
Some of the cases of police brutality are not acceptable, a criminal expert said yesterday.
Christian Bezuidenhout, a criminal expert from the University of Pretoria, said police brutality was high between 2010 and 2012 but has decreased over the years.
He said it was difficult to determine whether cases of police brutality were increasing in the past few months.
“I agree some cases are not acceptable and need to be investigated and dealt with harshly. In the same vein, did the public become more deviant against rules, especially during lockdown?” Bezuidenhout said.
Tshepiso Adoon's murder as a result of police action comes just two weeks after Nateniel Julies, 16, was killed allegedly by cops in Eldorado Park.
Officers Scorpion Simon Ndyalvane, 46, Caylene Whiteboy, 23, and Forster Netshiongolo, 37, were arrested. They are expected to appear in the Protea magistrate's court again today.
Ndyalvane and Whiteboy are facing charges of murder, defeating the ends of justice, discharging a firearm in a public space and being in possession of prohibited ammunition.
Netshiongolo is facing charges of defeating the ends of justice, being an accessory after the fact to Julies’ murder and possession of prohibited ammunition.
In April, Ntando Sigasa from Mndeni, Soweto, died after he was allegedly assaulted by police officers. No arrests have been made.
In March, Sibusiso Amos of Vosloorus was shot and killed allegedly by an Ekurhuleni metro police officer and a private security official during lockdown patrols in the area.
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