WATCH: Police rush to stop harmless women from cleaning a soccer field
Police rushed in their number to a soccer field to try and stop and intimidate women from cleaning it.
Natalie Solomons, a community activist, was enraged when police officers in seven marked and private police vehicles pulled up to an old soccer field in Bosmont in Johannesburg and tried to stop a group of women from cleaning it.
POLICE INTIMIDATE WOMAN ON SOCCER FIELD
Solomons says the way the police rushed to the soccer field was unbelievable because they never rushed to a crime scene like that.
“What is even more shocking is that a community member called the police on them,” Solomons said.
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THE WOMEN WERE CLEANING THE FIELD TO PLAY SOCCER
She said they were cleaning the field so young girls could utilise it as a soccer field.
On the video, she said: “They want to come stop a project that we want to create for children. For crime they are never there.”
Solomons then counted the number of police vehicles that rushed to the soccer field.
Police officers were standing at their vehicles not knowing what to do when Solomons told another female to take a video of the incident.
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“We want to keep the children off the streets away from drugs and crime. A group of businessmen in Bosmont came together, and with their help, we are in the process of putting the final touches to a recreational sports centre. This field is close to the centre, and after many requests for a soccer field, we finally decided to clean it.”
She said this field used to be an old soccer field anyway, but because the municipality never cleaned it, it was overgrown with grass, and criminals used it to do drugs and other crimes there.
“While we were busy cleaning about three marked police vehicles and four unmarked vehicles with several police officers from the Langlaagte police station arrived to try and stop us.”
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POLICE A MISSING IN ACTION WHEN THERE IS CRIME
An angry Solomons said she was shocked because a community member who was clearly against the growth of this community called the police.
“I asked the police where they are when we call them for crime because they never pitch up in their numbers as they did for a group of harmless women.
“I told them there was nothing illegal about our activities since this field used to be an old soccer field.”
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She said the Langlaagte police officers were outside their jurisdiction. “They were outside their authority, and not one of the Sophia town police officers were there.
“They tried to intimidate us, but we will not stand back as we are not doing anything wrong.”
She said they would continue to work towards uplifting their community, and if the government can’t do it, they cannot stop private citizens from trying to help the children in the community.
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Solomons said she had since received death threats.
I can’t back down now because it is for the children and not for me. I was told I am emotional, but if you have a heart for your community and you see the destruction daily, there is no way that you cannot get moving.”
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