Are police trigger-happy?

The Monitor Editor | Tuesday November 29, 2022 06:00

Unfortunately, that day turned sour for those who were shopping at Sefalana Cash and Carry in Gaborone West Industrial.

The exchange of fire that ensued between members of the Botswana Police Service (BPS) and robbers who had allegedly robbed a G4S cash-in-transit vehicle left two civilians dead, three robbers struck down, and an undisclosed number of citizens wounded.

One deceased civilian is reportedly an employee of the Citizen Entrepreneurial Development Agency (CEDA) while the other one allegedly works for Sefalana. Details regarding the shooting are still sketchy at this point and it is not clear whether the deceased citizens are casualties of gunfire from the robbers or the police. Regardless of what transpired, the expectation is that 'police officers are supposed to maintain law and order by protecting members of the public and their property, preventing crime, reducing fear of crime, and improving the quality of life for all citizens'.

Unfortunately, Friday turned out to be one of the worst days. Batswana were irate on social media blaming and accusing law enforcement agencies of being trigger-happy.

Casualties included the three would-be robbers, which news of their deaths many welcomed.

While details have not been released as yet, one can immediately assume that law enforcement found themselves caught between a rock and a hard place. They wanted to arrest the robbers, and the robbers must have also taken advantage of the masses that had gone shopping in large numbers, using them as human shields, ducking for cover from the police, or even using them as hostages. Diffusing situations such as last Friday's takes a lot of skill and extensive training.

Developed countries are way ahead of us in such matters. They usually have teams of negotiators, as well as snipers if the situation permits, amongst others. The idea is to safeguard the lives of citizens as much as possible.

When painful situations like this occur, a lot of questions beg for answers. Are our officers adequately trained to handle such situations? It is understandable that this probably happened in the blink of an eye, hence why there is a need for highly trained negotiators to stall the robbers and to give other enforcement teams some time to map out a plan to safely evacuate citizens.

It is easy to point a finger at law enforcement, but until we get all the details, we will not have a proper understanding of what was at stake. Notwithstanding, the situation was traumatising for shoppers and should, in future, be avoided at all costs.

The loss of innocent lives cannot be tolerated! May the families of those who died in the crossfire be comforted and the souls of the departed rest in peace!