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The South African detective who was removed from the murder investigation of athletics star Oscar Pistorius after it emerged that he himself faces attempted murder charges, has resigned from the force, police said on Thursday.
Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, who was the first officer on the scene after the Valentine's Day shooting of Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was also criticised for mixing up crucial facts about the investigation at the Olympian's bail hearing.
"He handed in his resignation yesterday and it was accepted with immediate effect," police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said. "We are not going into the details."
Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, is accused of firing on a full taxi minibus in 2011 while pursuing a man accused of murdering a woman and disposing of her dismembered body down a drain, according to local media.
The charges were withdrawn but then reinstated on 4 February, ten days before Steenkamp was shot.
The incident has embarrassed the South African police which is regularly criticised for failing to reduce one of the highest crimes rates in the world or dispel the perception that it is a poorly trained force.
Last week, eight police officers were arrested for tying a Mozambican taxi driver to the back of a vehicle and dragging him to a police station. It was video-recorded and shocked audiences around the world. The man later died.
Warrant Officer Hilton Botha, who was the first officer on the scene after the Valentine's Day shooting of Pistorius's girlfriend Reeva Steenkamp, was also criticised for mixing up crucial facts about the investigation at the Olympian's bail hearing.
"He handed in his resignation yesterday and it was accepted with immediate effect," police spokesman Brigadier Neville Malila said. "We are not going into the details."
Botha, a detective with 24 years experience, is accused of firing on a full taxi minibus in 2011 while pursuing a man accused of murdering a woman and disposing of her dismembered body down a drain, according to local media.
The charges were withdrawn but then reinstated on 4 February, ten days before Steenkamp was shot.
The incident has embarrassed the South African police which is regularly criticised for failing to reduce one of the highest crimes rates in the world or dispel the perception that it is a poorly trained force.
Last week, eight police officers were arrested for tying a Mozambican taxi driver to the back of a vehicle and dragging him to a police station. It was video-recorded and shocked audiences around the world. The man later died.