Westbury Police Officers Flee After Residents Attack Them, SA Dumbfounded

• Members of the South African Police Service's Anti-Gang Unit police officers fled Westbury after the community attacked them
• Members of the community prevented the police from arresting a man for having drugs
• They threw stones at them, and South Africans called for KZN police commissioner General Nhlanhla Mkhwanazi to assist the Gauteng province

Tebogo Mokwena, a Briefly News current affairs journalist based in Johannesburg, South Africa, covered a range of criminal activities, including cash-in-transit heists, kidnappings, taxi violence, police investigations, police shootouts, and court cases at Daily Sun for over three years.

WSETBURY, JOHANNESBURG — South Africans were impressed when members of the South African Police Service's Anti-Gang Unit in Westbury, Johannesburg, fled from the community after it attacked them during a search-and-stop operation on 3 June 2025.

SAPS officers chased out of community

According to eNCA, the police officers were conducting a search-and-stop when they arrested a community member for possession of drugs. Angry community members attacked the police officers and hit them with rocks and bottles. The police officers fled the scene. Fortunately, no one was arrested.

Top cop slams community members

National Commissioner Fannie Masemola criticised the members of the community. He said they complain about turf wars and high crime levels, but interfere in the police's efforts to fight crime. He urged the officers not to back down and to continue fighting crime.

What you need to know about Westbury

• A Westbury resident said in 2023 that she was shot at while relieving herself in the loo during a gunfight between gangs in the community
• Community members clashed with the police on 27 November 2024 during a service delivery protest over a lack of water
• A mother and a baby died mysteriously in December at the Westbury Clinic, and community members demanded answers
• The Department of Health in the province found no wrongdoing in the death of the woman and her unborn baby

What did South Africans say?

Netizens commenting on eNCA's Facebook post were not impressed by the police. Some defended them.

Siyakholwa Nozibele said:

"Imagine a Mkhwanazi in Gauteng for a police commissioner."

Eric Vhakoma Munyai Madadzhe said:

"In the police force, there are many different units, and each unit specializes in what they're trained for. Should the situation change from your primary functions, you professionally withdraw and call the relevant unit to deal with that."

Shaun Patrick Collard said:

"Kids throwing stones made them run."

Burt Adriaans said:

"They need to go to KZN for training."

Dictator Mahlangu said:

"May we ask Durban police officers to attend that place?"

Blant'ye Googleearth Blantye said:

"It's not fleeing. It's called a tactical retreat."

Community member trades blows with resident

In another article, Briefly News reported that a member of the police and a community member got into a physical altercation that turned violent. The incident happened in October 2024.

A video of the incident went viral. The clip shows how the officer and the community member were engaged in a heated argument. One of the community members tried to record the officer, and the officer attacked him.

Source: Briefly News