Metro cop gunned down, suspects remain at large
Police reports indicate that after spotting a truck travelling contraflow to traffic near the off-ramp, the officer indicated for the driver to stop the truck. It is alleged that he was then approached by one of the four suspects, who walked towards the officer and shot him while he was still seated in his vehicle.
The life of Durban Metro Police officer and Wentworth resident, Captain Errol Ogle, was unexpectedly cut short after he was senselessly and brutally killed by armed suspects while intervening in a truck hijacking on the M7, near the Hans Dettman off-ramp, on Thursday.
Cpt Ogle was based at the Queensburgh Metro Police station and had been under the employ of the municipality since 1999.
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Police reports indicate that after spotting a truck travelling contraflow to traffic near the off-ramp, the officer indicated for the driver to stop the truck. It is alleged that he was then approached by one of the four suspects, who walked towards the officer and shot him while he was still seated in his vehicle.
It is further alleged that before the suspects, who had been travelling in a silver Polo, fled the scene, they took the officer’s firearm and police vehicle.
“The vehicle was later abandoned and recovered on Stapleton Road in Pinetown,” said provincial police spokesperson, Col Robert Netshiunda. Police are investigating cases of murder, theft and carjacking.
ALS Paramedics, who were one of the first responders at the scene, conducted an assessment and discovered that the officer had sustained a single gunshot wound to his upper body.
“Unfortunately, there was nothing more paramedics could do for the man and he was declared dead,” said ALS Paramedics spokesperson, Garrith Jamieson.
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eThekwini mayor, Mxolisi Kaunda, condemned the senseless killing of the officer, whom he described as brave, and called on law enforcement agencies to leave no stone unturned in their endeavours to find the culprits.
“We are saddened by the passing of Cpt Ogle. The rate at which our employees are being gunned down is extremely alarming and so is the rate of the theft of our municipal vehicles which exposes our employees to all sorts of danger. This has reached unacceptable levels. I want to urge our Metro Police officers not to be discouraged by the acts of these heartless criminals. Our officers must continue to fight crime fearlessly and within the ambit of the law,” said Kaunda.
