IPID investigating clashes between police & Elsies River residents in which teen girl died
At least three other civilians were wounded in the unrest on Sunday.
Picture: @SAPoliceService/X
CAPE TOWN - The Independent Police Investigative Directorate (IPID) is probing violent clashes between officers and Elsies River residents in which a teenage girl died.
At least three other civilians were wounded in the unrest on Sunday.
The police watchdog said it's alleged that at around six in the evening, officers searched premises in The Range, where drugs and ammunition were found and a suspect was arrested.
IPID said that about 150 community members threw stones, bricks and bottles at officers while they tried to leave with the person that they had arrested.
A stun grenade was used to disperse the crowd and later rubber bullets were fired.
The Elsies River Community Policing Forum's Imraahn Mukaddam said that while the man linked to the drugs and ammunition was not at home at the time of the raid, an elderly resident of the house was arrested.
"It's not as if the community came to defend the actual drug dealer. The lady, his mother-in-law or his girlfriend's mother, I'm not 100% sure, the tip-off was that there was some ammunition and drugs in this house and I think procedurally, they had to arrest whoever was on the premises at the time."
The three people wounded in the clashes with police are recovering in hospital.