Cops defend ‘killer’ cop

Police officers from Hanover Park are set to help defend their colleague accused of gunning down an innocent dad during an upcoming murder trial at the Wynberg Regional Court.

This was revealed on Wednesday as Constable Johan van der Merwe returned to court where he faces a charge of murder for shooting and killing security guard Marlon Fuller.

The 38-year-old pa from Cascade Court was killed on December 5, 2020 by police who allegedly fired a shotgun into a crowd of mense.

Around midnight on that Saturday, Marlon had gone out to fetch his two teen daughters, who were at a jol at the playground at Cascade Court.

At that moment, cops arrived and ordered residents to lie on the ground. It is still not clear what led to shots being fired, but Marlon was hit.

The matter, investigated by the Independent Police Investigative Directorate, led to the arrests of Van Der Merwe and fellow reservist constable Eugene Jones, who was charged with defeating the ends of justice. However, Jones is not standing trial.

In December 2020, Ipid senior investigator Patrick Takai told the Athlone Magistrate’s Court that according to statements from Johan’s boss and colleagues, the reservist was only meant to carry an unloaded shotgun to “scare” people.

Three witnesses arrived at court on Wednesday but were told that the trial could not go ahead due to the large amount of cases on the court roll.

Van der Merwe’s defence attorney told the magistrate that they required two days for the trial.

He added that his client intended on taking the stand in his own defence along with three cops from Philippi police station. The case was postponed to November 23 and 29 for the matter to be heard.

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