National Police Commissioner General Fannie Masemola says six police officers have lost their lives in the line of duty since April.
He addressed the media while visiting the family of 47-year-old Sergeant Lawrence Mtshweni who was shot and killed in the line of duty in Mpumalanga on Friday.
Mtshweni was part of a group of police officers who responded to a business burglary in Schoemansdaal, when they were attacked by a group of 10 suspects.
Earlier, he visited the families of two Gauteng police officers, Warrant Officer Vuyisile Sintwa and Sergeant Simon Masenye, who were ambushed whilst transporting awaiting-trial prisoner Jabulani Moyo from the Roodepoort Magistrates Court to Boksburg prison also on Friday.
Masemola says, "It is a very sad day where we have lost three members in the space of 48 hours and of course these are not ordinary numbers. Last year, in the last financial year, we lost 27 members in the line of duty. Since the first of April to now, with this Sergeant Mtshweni, we have lost six member. What we are saying is that we will never tolerate this type of behaviour."