The City of Cape Town has hit out at the bad behaviour of taxi drivers following an attack on officers on Saturday.
The City's Highway Patrol Unit tried to arrest a taxi driver on FW De Klerk Boulevard who allegedly drove with a fake license disc.
In a video, two officers are seen trying to arrest the man while pinning him to the ground.
At this point, several men who appear to be taxi drivers free the man by pulling him from the officers.
Another video shows the man driving a taxi while wearing handcuffs around his left wrist, showing that he had eluded arrest.
Mayoral committee member for safety and security,JP Smith, says a tracing operation has been launched to find and arrest the errant driver.
“Our officers, across enforcement departments, run the gauntlet daily in executing their duties which are to the benefit and safety of all our residents,” Smith says.
He said the City aims to amend legislation to permit more effective enforcement relating to public transport.
The public relations officer for the SA National Taxi Council (Santaco) and Codeta, Makhosandile Tumana, said they don't know to which association the driver belongs to.
But he says they also understand why the driver fled.
“As he was being brutally mishandled by the particular officers at the scene, the commuters had to intervene as it was a brutal treatment,” he said.
Smith added the Traffic By-law is currently undergoing final revisions and will shortly be published for public comment.
This will make provision for impoundments of any motor vehicle committing serious moving violations and transgression of traffic laws.