Cop caught on camera threatening a driver now under probe

Saturday, 25 February 2023

The police officer caught on camera harassing and threatening a lorry driver has been identified and the incident is being reviewed for appropriate disciplinary action, the Inspector General of Police Japhet Koome said on Saturday.

The video showing the unnamed officer threatening the driver went viral on social media, drawing sharp criticism from the public.

While the reasons for the altercation are not fully clear, the officer kept on threatening the driver, and at one point even drew his gun.

“As a service, we are gravely concerned by, and strongly condemn the misconduct displayed by the officer. It should be clear that NPS shall not condone or protect any officer found engaging in abuse of his/her powers and/or priviledges, or any other action that can bring disrepute to the image of the police,” IG Koome said in a statement.

“We regret the incident and reiterate that the behaviour exhibited by the said officer does not reflect the core values of NPS, more so during this reform period where we are focused on, and commitment to fostering and promoting good police-community relations, as enshrined in the Constitution of Kenya,” the statement added.

Kenyans on social media flooded the platforms to condemn the officer and call for an end to chronic incidents of police unprofessionalism.

“It’s a shame! Unprofessional and abuse of authority to have intoxicated officer on the road,” said faaiq Hassan.

“Disciplinary action should be taken and also give a maximum protection to the guy that was offended, he sounded very polite and civilized,” Ignatius Achaya appealed to the IG. “This kind of harassment, extortionism of single coins poor Kenyans are trying to make to feed their families and pay taxes for these police officers to b paid is rampant everywhere on roads,” another Twitter user said.