With all of the reports of drunk police officers that have been doing the rounds, it’s not inconceivable that people might assume that a passed out cop, behind the wheel of a car, may have been partaking in a little tipple before heading out.
That appears not to be the case in a recent video shared widely on social media, showing a SAPS member seemingly incapacitated after driving into a wall in Mpumalanga.
The incident, which happened in Standerton in the early hours of February 20, was captured on camera.
Prepare yourself for some choice language in the same league, if not worse than, the commentary on that high-speed car chase along Boyes Drive:
Classy.
If that video doesn’t work, here’s the same video on Instagram.
This brings us to why this probably isn’t a drunk-driving incident.
To their credit, SAPS spokespeople have for the most part owned up when inebriated cops have been captured on camera.
They typically release the standard “we don’t condone this, there’s an investigation, and this is unbecoming of a SAPS officer” statement.
In this case, reports TimesLIVE, Police spokesperson Brig Leonard Hlathi says that the officer was suffering from an undiagnosed medical condition.
The officer was on duty driving the state-owned vehicle when he had a “medical attack” which was “unknown to him and he has never suffered from it before”, Hlathi said.
The officer was left in the car and given no help until other police officers were called to the scene.
“These members then used another key to open the door for him and then realised that he was unconscious. They immediately took the officer to hospital for medical treatment.
“The medical evidence at police management’s disposal has revealed that the officer has a certain medical condition which cannot be disclosed to the public. That medical condition temporarily subjected him to a state of automatism,” Hlathi said.
And, no, refusing to disclose the medical condition is not evidence that they’re trying to hide something.
The officer has the right to decide whether or not he wants to disclose his health status as part of his constitutional right to privacy.
He is currently receiving support from the employee health and wellness department.
[source:timeslive]
