City workers arrested for illegal drag racing

City's JP Smith

Two City of Cape Town staff members were arrested for illegal street racing along the N7 in the direction of Bosmansdam Road.

The City’s Ghost Squad was conducting operations in the Milnerton/Plattekloof area on Wednesday July 12 for illegal street racing.

According to JP Smith, the City’s mayoral committee member for safety and security and social services, at about 11pm, one of the officers spotted a Subaru and Ford ST racing along the N7 in the direction of Bosmansdam Road.

“He called for back-up and pursued the vehicles, eventually forcing them to a stop. Upon interrogating the drivers, officers found that one of them was a female traffic officer and the other a City firefighter who had another female traffic officer in the passenger seat.

“The suspects were charged with reckless and negligent driving and participating in an illegal street race. The City has also instituted disciplinary steps, with pre-suspension letters set to be issued on Friday July 14,” said Mr Smith.

He added that while he did not want to “pre-judge the situation” he had no doubt that an incident such as this one has the potential to cause “serious reputational harm to the City”.

“Illegal street racing is extremely dangerous and one of our many enforcement challenges. It is therefore disappointing that the very people who are supposed to protect the public make themselves guilty of this type of behaviour.

“As the City we will not shy away from highlighting wrongdoing within our ranks, because it is important to demonstrate that we prosecute fairly and without fear or favour, irrespective of the parties involved.

“I also want to reassure the public that the actions of a few do not represent the thousands of dedicated employees within our safety and security services who put their lives on the line on a daily basis to keep Cape Town safe,” he said.