By JOSHUA ARLO
A YOUNG man narrowly escaped death after drunk police allegedly fired shots at the taxi cab he was in along 8mile in the national capital last Saturday.
Also in the same cab were a mother and her child and another male.
The alleged incident took place along the junction between 8mile and 9mile just outside the city at around 11am.
The victim John Yapa and the other passengers are from Erave in Southern Highlands who live at 8mile and were on their way home when the alleged incident occurred.
According to the victim and the other male passenger Joseph Kadipia, the cab, which belonged to a Western Highlander, was speeding along the road towards 8mile when they drove passed the police who were allegedly consuming liquor under the trees along the road.
They said the police then jumped onto their vehicle, believed to be a central highway patrol open back vehicle with plate number ZCG 81, and gave chase to the speeding cab.
The police allegedly fired two warning shots to stop the speeding cab.
The second shot entered the back window of the cab and grazed the right side of the back of the victim’s head before going through the front window.
The police then drove off after the cab stopped at the junction with the victim sprawling on the floor of the cab, bleeding from the wound.
Mr Kadipia said he stopped another vehicle on the road and rushed the victim to the hospital.
Mr Kadipia said last Sunday he was ‘very concerned’ about the ‘police brutality’ and insisted on police authorities for proper discipline.
He said that he and other witnesses had already informed National Capital District metropolitan Supt Fred Yakasa but a formal complaint was yet to be made.
Attempts to verify this with Mr Yakasa were unsuccessful.