A violent incident has occurred in Johannesburg, South Africa, where a South African police officer ended up in the hospital after being assaulted by a group of church goers. The incident occurred after the local authorities were towing a car that belonged to one of the members of the Johannesburg church.
In a report by Times Live, the Metro police stated that the officer as well as the tow truck driver were swarmed by members of the church while they were doing their jobs to tow the illegally parked car and clear the street of unnecessary traffic. One of the church members saw that the authorities were about to tow the vehicle, and that was when the group reacted violently towards the police members. The incident took place on Claim Street, Hillbrow.
A video of the altercation between the police and the church members has even spread, becoming viral on Facebook and on Twitter. It can be seen in the video that the church members were very angrily approaching the police officer, and he was even slapped, which prompted him to take his gun out from his holster and fire in the air. However, the scare tactic was unsuccessful, and he ended up getting swarmed by the mob.
According to Meme Burn, the officer who was beaten ended up being unconscious. Later on in that day, the officer was rushed to the Millpark Hospital, where he is now recovering from the injuries that he received from the conflict. A lot of people have responded to the video on social media, stating that the police are allowed to utilize their firearms in dire situations. Meanwhile, others have claimed that the church members were deliberately provoked by the police.
Fortunately, there are no reports of anyone being killed after the altercation. However, according to BBC News, an arrest was made, since one of the church members took the officer's pistol. The authorities have already stated that once investigations have taken place, more arrests will be made for assaulting the police officer.
