DURBAN - A total of 82 police officers have been killed in the past seven months.
Police Minister Bheki Cele says this is a crisis.
He was speaking during a visit to the home of Riyadh Adams.
The sergeant was killed outside the Pavillion Shopping Centre in Durban after a daring robbery last week.
"I hear people using the word crisis. I would not deny that word," he said.
"That's what we are facing when it comes to the butchering of police officers."