Officer killed in Polokwane raises number of cops killed since April to 42

Another police officer has been shot dead, this time in Ladanna outside Polokwane.

Constable Petrus Gerhardus de Lange, 30, was on duty on Thursday night when he was accosted by unknown men in a BMW X3 and a white Mercedes-Benz.

It is understood that De Lange was in a vehicle observing trucks at a parking station for possible drug dealings when the suspects started shooting at him and a community policing forum (CPF) member he was with. The two returned fire.

De Lange was hit and died from his injuries on the way to hospital. The CPF member was unharmed.

The motive for the killing is unclear.

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National Police Commissioner General Khehla Sitole has condemned the killing and ordered that a 72-hour activation plan be mobilised to identify and bring those responsible to book.

"We have lost 42 police officers at the hands of criminals since the start of this financial year alone," Sitole said.

Eighteen of the officers were killed while on duty and the remaining 24 were killed off-duty.

Sitole said: "The number of our police officers being attacked and killed remains at an unacceptable level despite proactive and reactive interventions."

Anyone with information on last night is requested to call the toll-free Crime Stop number 086 000 10111.