Yesterday, 11 March 2024, at around 13:30, a Tshwane Metro Police Department (TMPD) VIP Protector assigned to the City Manager, Johann Mettler, was driving along Francis Baard Street approaching Thabo Sehume Street, when he came across a motorist who was allegedly obstructing traffic in a silver Mercedes Benz sedan in the Pretoria CBD.
The TMPD official activated a siren and signalled to the female motorist to move in order to avoid obstructing traffic, but she allegedly refused to obey his instruction. He stepped out of the vehicle, approached her and showed her his appointment certificate.
He informed her that he was going to issue her with a traffic fine, and while he was busy filling in the fine, she allegedly grabbed his official vehicle keys, removed them from the ignition, drove off and left the TMPD official stranded in the inner city.
The TMPD official immediately called his supervisor from the planning section and informed him of the incident, and the supervisor, together with freeway patrol, located the suspect through the vehicle’s tracking system and chased her on the R21 South.
During the high-speed chase, she allegedly kept ignoring the police’s instruction to bring her rental car to a halt but, ultimately, she stopped. After stopping, police politely requested her to hand over the keys of a state vehicle and she allegedly refused. She drove off again, apparently in a rush to catch a flight, and police gave chase and eventually apprehended her at the OR Tambo International Airport.
She was taken to the Pretoria Central Police Station where a case docket of common robbery and theft was opened against her with CAS Number 347/03/2024, and she was briefly detained. She was later released and allegedly refused to sign the 299 Form – a form completed when issuing back SAPS 13 items to the owner.
The keys of the official state vehicle were also recovered from the suspect, who is a senior manager at a subsidiary of one of the water boards.
The City Manager was engaged in a meeting at the office when this incident happened, and the vehicle assigned to him was not involved either as its keys had been snatched by the suspect. His protector stayed behind in Pretoria to guard the state vehicle while the suspect was being pursued by his colleagues.
Issued by Communication, Marketing and Events.