BULLET HOLDS THE KEY

Rose Modise is unable to prove who shot her in a cops and robbers shootout.

A WOMAN shot in the crossfire between police and robbers has discovered after she unsuccessfully sued the SAPS for damages that the “key lies in the bullet”.

She is in a Catch-22 situation because it is not clear whether she was hit by a bullet from the police or the robbers.

To make matters worse for Rose Modise, she is unable to prove who had shot her because the bullet is still lodged in her back.

Her doctors said it would be a life-threatening operation to remove it.

X-rays done on her back to try to establish whether it was the type of bullet fired by the police also did not yield much luck.

Apart from the X-rays revealing the length, not much more could be detected regarding the projectile.

Gauteng High Court, Pretoria Judge Peter Mabuse was unable to find either way. His order read “absolution from the instance”.

This is a legal term which in effect means that the plaintiff’s case was dismissed as Modise, in this case, did not give sufficient evidence before the court to support the elements of her claim.

As the court concluded, it cannot be discerned who had shot her that day – the police or the robbers.

Modise, who lives in Maumong village in Rustenburg, claimed damages from the police and alleged that the bullet must have been fired by one of their members because she saw them on the scene.

She was shot in the right shoulder blade in June 2013 near the Randfontein taxi rank.

Modise said this was due to the negligence of the police who, according to her, did not fire warning shots and randomly opened fire at the robbers while there were innocent bystanders.

Modise told the court that she was on her way to the taxi rank from the Randfontein CBD where she had gone to do some shopping.

While walking she heard a sound. She had no idea what it was or where it came from.

She saw two policewomen standing in the street but she had no idea at the time that they were exchanging fire with robbers.

She however decided to walk into nearby premises to avoid whatever was happening.

As she was walking into the premises, she was shot in the right shoulder blade. She fell face down as a result of being struck by a bullet.

The bullet is still lodged in her body as she was advised by doctors that it could not be removed as that may result in a deadly situation for her.

A ballistic expert was called by Modise’s legal team to examine and comment on the probability that the woman was injured by a bullet fired from a 9mm x 19mm calibre pistol similar to the calibre firearm used by the SAPS.

Counsel for the SAPS, advocate Linda Pretorius, argued that there was no need for the police to prove their innocence as Modise’s side did not produce any evidence that the SAPS were to blame.

Judge Mabuse said Modise did not know who shot her – the police or the robbers.

The fact that she saw police on the scene did not mean they pulled the trigger and had hit her.

He also could not find that the SAPS kept on firing even though the robbers fled the scene, as suggested by Modise.

While she lost her claim, she did not need to foot the SAPS’S legal bill.

A sympathetic Pretorius said they would pay their costs as “the plaintiff would not be able, in a million years, to pay the defendant’s costs”.