Radio DJ Darren Scott has described the terror he felt when robbed in Jozi at gunpoint last Thursday, and he’s just glad he came away with all of his digits intact.

At around 7:15PM, Scott was robbed on the corner of William Nicol Drive and Leslie Avenue, and there were a couple of moments that left him fearing for his life

In a lengthy Facebook post, Scott described what was going through his head:

The guy with the 9mm held to my head was extremely aggressive, constantly swearing and screaming at me. I wouldn’t recognize him or his accomplices, if they walked into this room right now. All I could see was a 9mm in my face, with a very twitchy finger on the trigger…

All 3 tried to pull my ring off my finger. It CANNOT come off …. my next thought was that they’re going to produce wire-cutters and cut my finger off. I had no cash, only a card …. how were they going to react if they thought I was lying? My cell was accessible and in view … but my laptop was in a satchel (with my wallet with all my cards, passport, license etc inside) under my seat behind me. I wasn’t allowed to say anything to them without being sworn at and told to “shut the F*** up”, so trying to explain how I was going to get my bag was pointless.

As I reached back for this, I thought I was going to be shot, there and then. It wasn’t the first time this thought crossed my mind. It was all I could think of whilst trying to remain calm. That, and how my two boys were just a few km’s up the road waiting for their Daddy to get home.

Thankfully, the robbers fled with some of his valuables, and he managed to drive off unscathed. Originally, Scott was left fuming at the response by the SAPS:

…less than 100m from the scene of my ordeal, there are 3 JMPD vehicles parked on other side of Nicol. (It was dark so probably too far away for them to have witnessed my incident, and react, in all fairness. However, as both intersections are known hotspots, why weren’t they split up to monitor both intersections? I soon found out ….)

I made a beeline for them, in my panic, performing an illegal U-Turn against on-coming traffic to get to them. I pulled up behind their (3) vehicles and saw 3 JMPD cops standing chatting on the sidewalk. I ran to them shouting that I had just been robbed at gunpoint. When I got to them, I pointed out the intersection just 80 odd meters away ….. no reaction. It was literally a minute since I had driven away from the gunman …. yet the cops didn’t move an inch, instead asking some very irrelevant questions, instead of jumping into action. After a few minutes of literally begging them to do something, I knew by then that the robbers would be long gone. It was as if my ordeal was interrupting their conversation and was an irritation to them.

According to Times LIVE, the follow-up by officers has actually restored some of Scott’s faith:

…Scott said he was surprised by the “empathy‚ friendliness‚ urgency and efficiency”.

“I was stunned! Tash [Scott’s partner‚ Natasha Laird] and I were welcomed at the door! Once the welcoming lady heard what we were there for‚ her first response was to convince Tash to FORCE me to take counselling‚ and that they would offer this as a complimentary service!”

Scott later received his case number via SMS and the cellphone number of the investigating officer.

“Literally a few minutes after the SMS‚ she called me‚ commiserating with me over my ordeal‚ reminding me of the counselling necessity‚ and assuring me that’s she would do everything in her and her colleagues’ power to investigate and keep me informed of any leads or progress‚ and that I could call her anytime I needed her assistance or advice.”

As Scott’s account spread, anger at the actions of the three JMPD cops who hardly lifted a finger grew. Spokesperson for the Johannesburg Metro police, Chief Superintendent Wayne Minnaar [below], has now released a statement.

Over to the Citizen:

“The three Metro police officers who failed to act when they were approached by Darren Scott, who was held up by armed criminals on William Nicol Drive, is totally unacceptable.

“The Chief of the Johannesburg Metropolitan Police Department David Tembe has instructed the Internal Affairs Unit to investigate the matter and institute internal disciplinary action.

“The officers will be removed from patrol vehicles with immediate effect and be placed on foot patrol whilst the matter is investigated. The Internal Affairs Unit, however, needs a statement from Darren Scott so that a formal investigation can be done for the Metro police officers concerned to appear before a disciplinary hearing.

“Metro police officers have a responsibility to serve and to protect the community, and not to drive away when someone has been attacked,” the statement concluded.

Having reported a crime, and watched nobody bat an eyelid to assist, I don’t hold high hopes for a turnaround in attitude.

You can read Scott’s full account here.

[sources:facebook&timeslive&citizen]