POLICE allegedly fired rubber bullets to the chest of the deceased, Andries Tatane, and then beat him with batons. Photo: Willem van der Berg
Ten years ago today, Andries Tatane died after being shot with rubber bullets at close range by police in Ficksburg. The officers who stood trial for the killing were all acquitted and kept their jobs. Last month, Mthokozisi Ntumba was shot dead in similar circumstances. Viewfinder s analysis of hundreds of crowd management-related complaints against the police – registered in the years between the killings of Tatane and Ntumba – reveals that police are not held accountable for the alleged misuse of rubber bullets. The anonymity afforded by riot gear and the vagueness over the use of rubber bullets at close range still protects Public Order Police officers from the consequences.