Former metro policemen Kelvin Pillay and Tyrone Stewart were both at the scene of the crime where a wounded Ebrahim Adams lay sprawled on the ground.
Adams’s body would later be found dumped in a veld on Baden Powell Drive near Strandfontein.
What happened in between is what the Western Cape High Court must decide, as Pillay and Stewart stand accused of Adams’s murder.
Another policeman, Jason February, believed to have fired the close-range shot, has since died.
It is the State’s case that on the night of the crime, the police officers, along with two other officers, were involved in “illegal pick-ups of civilians” while they were on duty. The two other officers have turned State witness.
Pillay and Stewart also face charges of two counts of kidnapping, assault with intent to do grievous bodily harm and defeating the ends of justice.
It was while they were on patrol in Lavender Hill that Adams was spotted running away, and February and Stewart gave chase. Pillay followed before hearing gunshots.
In his closing argument on Tuesday, State prosecutor Lenro Badenhorst said while it was not known why Adams had fled, he had at tempted to hide between a car and a wall at Fawley Court.
“It is submitted that February fired the shot with intent against (Adams’s chest) to get him out from where he was lying,” said Badenhorst.
“It is therefore submitted that from the direct evidence and circumstantial evidence, February was responsible for Adams’s death.”
Badenhorst went on to say that Stewart had been present when February was wounded.
“Pillay arrived just after the shots were fired. Pillay must have known that a member of the public was seriously injured as he decided that he did not want them to draw … the neighbourhood’s attention,” he said.
He added that Pillay’s knowledge about the injured person, the fact that his colleagues fired without claiming to have a legitimate reason and their failure to provide medical aid was “enough information” for him to have known that February and Stewart had committed a serious offence.
Badenhorst said if February and Stewart had intended to effect an arrest, neither had been in danger and excessive force was not necessary.
According to Badenhorst, Stewart had misled his colleagues by denying what had happened. Stewart had also not enquired about the nature of Adams’s injuries or why they were not taking him to a hospital.
“He failed to make any attempt to get away from February and report the matter,” said Badenhorst, adding that Stewart had also failed to report the matter immediately.
He said Pillay had also not offered any medical assistance to the injured Adams. Instead, he helped remove the body from the scene.
But Pillay’s advocate, Michael Garce, told the court that because of February’s “unstable behaviour”, the officers had responded to his commands because they had “feared for their lives”.
Judgment is expected later this month. - Cape Times
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