News / National
Police officer beaten by mob at accident scene
03 Jul 2013 at 03:26hrs | Views
A policeman was yesterday beaten by a crowd that accused him of causing an accident in which a disabled woman was knocked down by a fleeing commuter omnibus that plies the City-Mufakose route in Harare.
Witnesses said the commuter omnibus driver was trying to evade arrest at the corner of Chinhoyi Street and Albion Avenue in the city centre when the accident occurred.
"The driver was fleeing from a policeman who had tried to stop him. He immediately reversed and knocked over the disabled woman. She was hooked by the wheel and dragged for about 10 metres. She got serious injuries on the face and chest," said a vendor who witnessed the accident but declined to be identified.
The witness said the seriously injured woman was taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital.
He said this irked the crowd who pounced on the policeman, beating him with fists and booted feet.
The crowd accused the policeman of collecting $2 bribes from commuter omnibuses intending to pick or drop passengers at the undesignated zone.
"The policeman was rescued by his colleagues who dispersed the crowd using batons. The woman's facial skin peeled off and her right side was bad injured as she was dragged by the retreating commuter omnibus," said the witness.
National traffic police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza said he had not received such a report.
Witnesses said the commuter omnibus driver was trying to evade arrest at the corner of Chinhoyi Street and Albion Avenue in the city centre when the accident occurred.
"The driver was fleeing from a policeman who had tried to stop him. He immediately reversed and knocked over the disabled woman. She was hooked by the wheel and dragged for about 10 metres. She got serious injuries on the face and chest," said a vendor who witnessed the accident but declined to be identified.
The witness said the seriously injured woman was taken to Parirenyatwa Hospital.
He said this irked the crowd who pounced on the policeman, beating him with fists and booted feet.
The crowd accused the policeman of collecting $2 bribes from commuter omnibuses intending to pick or drop passengers at the undesignated zone.
"The policeman was rescued by his colleagues who dispersed the crowd using batons. The woman's facial skin peeled off and her right side was bad injured as she was dragged by the retreating commuter omnibus," said the witness.
National traffic police spokesperson Inspector Luckmore Chakanza said he had not received such a report.
Source - herald
