Hero’s funeral for slain cop
|Published
KILLED: Walton van Rooyen KILLED: Walton van Rooyen
Slain traffic cop Walton van Rooyen received a hero’s send-off on Monday as his family and colleagues gathered for a private funeral ceremony held in Bellville.
This follows the murder of the 49-year-old officer who was gunned down in his patrol car after arresting a taxi driver in Kensington for a traffic violation on 17 March.
KILLED: Walton van Rooyen
Shortly after 8am, the officer was found slumped in the driver’s seat of his patrol car after he was shot once in the torso, allegedly by the taxi driver he had arrested.
Police went on the hunt for the driver and arrested Craig De Lilly, 36, along with three other men.
De Lilly was later charged with murder and remanded in custody.
Mayco Member for Safety and Security JP Smith says the family asked that their privacy be respected and only allowed family and colleagues to attend the service at the Old Apostolic Church on Sonstraal Hoogte.
He says City of Cape Town traffic officers carried Van Rooyen’s coffin into the church down a guard of honour.
HONOUR: Pallbearers leading the coffin into church
Smith says due to the limitations on public gatherings due to the Coronavirus outbreak, they have been unable to host a memorial ceremony, but plan to do so later in the year where Van Rooyen’s name will be added to the City’s memorial wall.
Meanwhile, he says the City will call on the courts to deny De Lilly’s bail application which will be heard on 30 March.
The State indicated they will oppose bail.
